Karam Dana publishes two articles and lectures at UW School of Law

IAS faculty member Karam Dana published two co-authored articles. The first, in the Journal of Politics and Religion titled “Veiled Politics: Experiences with Discrimination among American Muslim Women,” uses public opinion data, the article sheds light at gendered forms of discrimination and argues that Muslim women in the US who wear the hijab tend to experience the higher levels of discrimination when compared to Muslim women who do not wear the hijab. Overall, Muslim women, whether hijab-wearing or not, experience much higher discrimination than Muslim men.

The second, in the Journal of Social Science Research titled “The American Muslim Voter: Community Belonging and Political Participation,” builds on theories of in-group identity. It assesses whether or not American Muslims are similarly mobilized to vote consonant with other ethnic minorities in the U.S. whereby in-group attachment and group-level resources encourage participation. Using a national sample of American Muslims, the article finds that those who live around more co-ethnics and those who actively engage their religious identity are more likely to report they voted, and more likely to vote Democratic. This research offers the first evidence that American Muslims may follow similar patterns of in-group identity mobilization to other racial and ethnic groups in the United States.

Dana also delivered a lecture at UW School of Law titled “What’s Next for Palestine and Palestinians? Public Opinion and Potential Policy Formulations.” Sponsored by the Minority Law Student Association, the lecture was part of the Social Justice Tuesday Program, during the annual Law School’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Week. It examined public opinion data Dana has collected to paint a picture of Palestinian political life under occupation more than 20 years after signing the Oslo Accords. These results give insight into how Palestinians might move forward in their struggle for self-determination.