Mapping the Mahjar

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.

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…

Dec 6, 2017

Naif Farah: A Syrian in New York

The Khayrallah Center excitedly published the digital project Syrians in New York: Mapping Movement, 1900-1930 in September of 2017. However, not all of the extensive research conducted for the project fit within its final scope. This case study of Naif Farah reflects many elements of the story of Syrian/Lebanese immigrants that emphasizes upward mobility and…

Sep 6, 2017

Debut of Syrians in New York: Mapping Movement, 1900-1930

The Khayrallah Center’s newest project, Syrians in New York: Mapping Movement, 1900-1930, uses digital mapping techniques to investigate New York City’s early Syrian/Lebanese immigrant community. This project is a phase of the center’s larger project, Mapping the Mahjar. Syrians in New York examines immigrants’ movement from Manhattan’s Washington Street neighborhood to Brooklyn, employing spatial analysis…

Jun 6, 2016

Mapping the Life, Work of Lebanese-American Business Owners

NC State's Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies recently launched the first phase of Mapping the Mahjar, a digital humanities project that recounts the history of Lebanese immigrants around the world. Through an interactive visual display, the first phase tells the story of business owners who were part of the initial wave of the Lebanese diaspora in the United States.

Feb 4, 2016

Questioning Assumptions: Gender & Lebanese Immigration

This post is written by Dr. Akram Khater, Director of the Khayrallah Center, and Marjorie Stevens, Senior Researcher at the Khayrallah Center. For similar posts, check out migration and health, and Lebanese in the US Census. At the entrance to the Port of Beirut there stands a statue of a man in 19th century village…

Oct 28, 2015

Counting the Lebanese in the US: 1900-1930

This post is co-written by Marjorie Stevens and Peter Knepper. Marjorie is Senior Researcher for the Khayrallah Center with a primary focus on archival research and development. Peter Knepper is a PhD student in Sociology at NC State. He joined the Khayrallah Center in the Summer of 2015 to prepare preliminary analyses and create visual representations…

Oct 14, 2014

What death certificates tell us about the lives of Lebanese

The goal of the Khayrallah Center is to shed light on the important contribution of Lebanese-Americans. Beginning with a focus on North Carolina, we’ve accomplished that by conducting interviews, archiving family photos and movies, and creating cultural projects like a documentary and museum exhibit to showcase all that the community has done over the last century.…

Dec 10, 2012

Mapping Early Lebanese, Part I

This installment provides background on the year-long collaborative project with The Digital Innovation Lab. The next installment will include the interactive tools designed for the community. Telling the story of the largely unstudied Lebanese community in North Carolina would not be possible without the generous donations of family photographs and home movies as well as…