This project addresses hybrid identities with a specific concentration on Arab-Jewish and Mizrahi cultural identities. Theoretical discourse argues that these identities are not singular but multiple, constructed across intersecting and antagonistic discourses, practices, and positions. Identities are about questions of using the resources of history, language, and culture in the process of becoming, rather than being: not “who we are” or “where we came from,” so much as what we might become, how we have been represented, and how that bears on how we might represent ourselves. Although identities arise from self-narrative, the fictional nature of this process in no way undermines its discursive, material, or political efficacy. The project will also explore the notion of singularity—a form of knowledge that respects the other without absorbing it into the same or the different—which may enable contemporary Arabic-speaking Jews to express their internal cultural Arab preference without being displaced by either Jews or Arabs.

The research partner needs to possess creativity, theoretical insight, and a desire to investigate structures and horizons of hybrid identities. Basic concepts of cultural studies and theories of identity, or a readiness to explore and study them, are important. Knowledge of Arabic or Hebrew is not necessary—most of the materials in both languages have already been gathered. The research partner will be asked to explore theoretical sources in English, help organize and take notes of sources, write short summaries, photocopy important sections, and share the task of constructing the theoretical framework. Discussing the materials and offering fresh insights will be crucial to our work together. Another task is editorial in nature: reading drafts and translations of literary works from both Arabic and Hebrew and offering suggestions for improvement.