The Unhomely Home: Navigating Estrangement and Belonging in Contemporary Arab Diaspora Writing

This paper explores the intricate relationship between cultural hybridity, identity crisis, and alienation within the literature of the Arab diaspora. Utilizing Homi Bhabha’s concept of the "unhomely" and the Arab notion of al-ghurba (estrangement), the study examines the specific stance of the immigrant Arab writer who occupies a liminal space between the heritage culture and the host society. The research posits that for these authors, identity is not a fixed entity but a fluid negotiation—a "third space" where the trauma of displacement is continuously reconstructed. Through a theoretical analysis of post-colonial frameworks, this article argues that the immigrant writer transforms the crisis of alienation into a unique epistemological vantage point, creating a textual "home" where hybridity functions as both a site of struggle and resistance.