Akram Khater

Aug 30, 2022

Summers of Promises and Disappointments

This past summer (2022) around one million Lebanese immigrants visited Lebanon. Their arrival was awaited with great anticipation by many in Lebanon.

Feb 6, 2019

“Like a wolf who fell upon sheep”: Early Lebanese Immigrants and Religion in America

For some early Lebanese immigrants, religion was a source of comfort. Its rituals, language and congregations provided a sense of home in an alien environment, and stability amid the fast-paced changes they experienced in their new lives. For others, it was an oppressive reminder of a past they left behind, and a source of discord…

Nov 8, 2018

The Early Lebanese in America: A Demographic Portrait, 1880-1930

This post was written by Dr. Akram Khater, Director of the Khayrallah Center, and Marjorie Stevens, Senior Researcher. It is the third installment in the center’s Core Story, a series of essays detailing the broader history of Lebanese immigration to the United States. Some material for this essay was based on a previous demographic analysis…

Nov 15, 2017

Why did they leave? Reasons for early Lebanese migration

This article is authored by Dr. Akram Khater, Director of the Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies and Khayrallah Distinguished Professor of Lebanese Diaspora Studies, and Professor of History at NC State. It is part of a planned series of article that explore the early Lebanese immigrant experience. The first article in this series  focused on…

Oct 19, 2017

Interview with Charif Majdalani, winner of 2017 Khayrallah Prize

Dr. Akram Khater spoke with Dr. Charif Majdalani, the winner of the 2017 Khayrallah Prize, about his work and career as a Lebanese author writing about the Lebanese diaspora. Do you see yourself as a Lebanese, French, Franco-Lebanese or universal writer? I naturally define myself as a Lebanese author writing in French. But obviously, like…

Sep 20, 2017

Phoenician or Arab, Lebanese or Syrian ~ Who were the early Immigrants to America?

This article is authored by Dr. Akram Khater, Director of the Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies and Khayrallah Distinguished Professor of Lebanese Diaspora Studies, and Professor of History at NC State. His earlier article focused on Lebanese-Americans in WWI. Between the 1870s and the 1930s some 120,000 immigrants left the Eastern Mediterranean and traveled to…

Jun 8, 2017

Lebanese-Americans in World War I

This article is authored by Dr. Akram Khater, Director of the Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies and Khayrallah Distinguished Professor of Lebanese Diaspora Studies, and Professor of History at NC State. His latest article focuses on complicating the Lebanese peddler myth. Like other immigrant communities to the US, the Lebanese have fought in many of…

Jan 4, 2017

The Desire for Progress in The Syrian World: Education

This article is authored by Dr. Akram Khater, Director of the Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies and Khayrallah Distinguished Professor of Lebanese Diaspora Studies, and Professor of History at NC State, and Nicole Coscolluela, a second year MA student in Public History and completing the Digital Humanities Certificate at NC State. The Syrian World was…

Nov 30, 2016

Arbeely family: Pioneers to America and founders of the first Arabic language newspaper

This article is written by Dr. Akram Khater, Director of the Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies and Khayrallah Distinguished Professor of Lebanese Diaspora Studies, and Professor of History at NC State. This research would not have been possible without Ms. Martha Hess, Volunteer in the History Room, Maryville College Archives for her help in providing the…

Aug 24, 2016

Michael Shadid: A Syrian Socialist

This blog post is co-authored by Dr. Akram Khater, Director, Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies and professor of History at NC State, and Sarah Soleim, a PhD student in Public History at NC State specializing in twentieth-century United States history. Sarah’s last posted on Migration and health. Akram last posted on teaching the history…