Narrating Arab American History: The Peddling Thesis

Abstract

Alixa Naff's book Becoming American: The Early Arab Immigrant Experience is a foundational text for Arab American studies. Becoming American centered the voices of first- and second-generation Arab Americans through Naff's extensive use of oral histories. In large part due to Naff's work, pack peddling has had a central place in Arab American historical narratives as being the key to the early Syrian immigrants' integration into US society. This article shows how the claim that peddling facilitated assimilation is dependent upon certain ideological currents regarding race, class, gender, and sexuality. Then, I situate Naff's work within the context of US immigration history and liberal multiculturalism. I revisit the importance of Naff's work in order to show how the study of race, gender, class, and sexuality is crucial for understanding early Arab American history.