UC Santa Barbara

“The Other Settlers” is an Arab American history of the American West which places immigration, race, and colonialism at the heart of the narrative. This dissertation will describe the ways in which Arab immigrants came to settle in the American West, their roles in the mythology, conquest, and settlement of the region, and how Arab American individuals and communities were positioned, seen, and came to see themselves throughout the process. Arab Americans are a racially liminal group, and the diverse ethno-racial landscape of the American West provides a rich terrain for assessing Arab American sameness to and difference from other racial and ethnic groups, especially Asian Americans. This relational approach will move beyond studies that assess Arab American identity narrowly in relation only to Whiteness, and will emphasize the fluidity of Arab racial and ethnic identities. This dissertation is also part of a larger effort to examine and complicate the intersections among immigration, race, and colonialism, particularly with respect to racialized groups who were colonized peoples in their own homelands. The history of colonialism in the Middle East and North Africa has animated strongly anticolonial and anti-imperialist Arab identities and movements in the region and in the diaspora. In the context of the United States, Arab immigrants became settlers, particularly after they secured a White racial designation. Although Syrian immigrants were often racialized as non-White in practice, legal Whiteness was critical for reaping the rewards of westward expansion.