Ethnic Identity of Palestinian Immigrants in the United States : The Role of Material Cultural Artifacts

Abu-Ghazaleh focuses on Palestinian cultural material artifacts and their connection with the preservation of cultural identity. The Palestinian participants were acutely aware of the potential instability of their diaspora, especially in the United States since 9/11. This study provides a perspective not generally presented in Western media of the Palestinian people striving for the peaceful preservation of their nationality through their cultural artifacts, and social identity practices. For Palestinians, material culture artifacts connect them to their homeland even as it is relentlessly reduced to a fraction of its former landmass. Although the Palestinian people may be scattered around the world, they still retain a powerful connection to each other and their land.