Sarah M.A. Gualtieri

Dr. Sarah M.A. Gualtieri is a Professor at the University of Southern California, affiliated with the Departments of American Studies and Ethnicity, History, and Middle East Studies. Her research bridges Middle East Migration Studies, Arab American Studies, and Critical Ethnic Studies, with a focus on race, gender, and power dynamics. She holds a B.A. in History from McGill University, an M.A. and Ph.D. in Middle East Studies and History from the University of Chicago.

Key research projects include Arab Angelenos, exploring Syrian migration to Los Angeles and inter-ethnic relations, and her award-winning book Between Arab and White, which redefined Arab diaspora studies. Her work interrogates racialization processes, legal discrimination, and diasporic identity formation through historical case studies like the lynching of Syrian immigrant Nicholas Romey in the Jim Crow South.

Awarded NEH and ACLS fellowships, Dr. Gualtieri has contributed to PBS documentaries like Faces of America and served as interim chair of her department. Her interdisciplinary approach links historical analysis to contemporary debates on migration, race, and gender, with publications spanning books, edited volumes, and peer-reviewed journals.

• Awards: Mary C. Turpie Prize (2024), NEH Fellowship (2016-17), ACLS Ryskamp Fellowship (2008-09)
• Service: Editor for Encyclopedia of Women and Islamic Culture, consultant for major media projects
• Grants: Over $22,000 for Arab Angelenos project (2010-11), USC Visions and Voices funding (2007-08)

Her work establishes critical dialogues between Arab American Studies and broader ethnic studies frameworks, emphasizing transnational linkages and marginalized histories.