Keywords

mass media, arab americans, intergroup theory, 9/11, newspapers, content analysis, and stereotyping

Abstract

This research project will determine whether or not Arab Americans are portrayed as members of an out-group, in-group, or victim following the events of 9/11. This study improves upon previous research by analyzing the content of newspaper articles in USA Today, The New York Times, and The Washington Post pertaining to Arab Americans. Since the majority of research indicated the mass media has a tendency to perpetuate a negative stereotype of minorities and of Arabs, it was expected that the media would portray a negative stereotype of Arab Americans as well. The content analysis addressed the coverage of Arab Americans in the five years before and the five years after 9/11 in order to determine to what extent Arab Americans were depicted as members of an in-group, out-group, or victim following that date. A total of 1379 articles were analyzed placed into the social categories of in-group, out-group, or victim utilizing a clearly defined coding method. Findings showed that overall Arab Americans were depicted as members of an out-group more than they were depicted as members of an in-group or victim. Since the total number of articles dramatically increased following 9/11, the number of articles placing Arab Americans as members of an in-group, out-group, or victim increased accordingly. However, approximately three years after 9/11, the number of articles pertaining to Arab Americans began returning to pre-9/11 levels. While the number of articles placing Arab Americans as members of an in-group or victim increased immediately following 9/11, articles in both social categories steadily declined following 9/11. While the number of articles placing Arab Americans as members of an out-group decreased in the year immediately following 9/11, the number of articles placing Arab Americans as members of an out-group steadily increased following 9/11.

Notes

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Graduation Date

2008

Advisor

Sadri, Houman A.

Degree

Master of Arts (M.A.)

College

College of Sciences

Department

Political Science

Degree Program

Political Science

Format

application/pdf

Identifier

CFE0002041

URL

http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/CFE0002041

Language

English

Release Date

June 2008

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Access Status

Masters Thesis (Open Access)

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