Oral history interview with Sabina Haque, 2017 November 11

Overview of the Collection

Interviewee
Haque, Sabina Zeba, 1974-
Title
Oral history interview with Sabina Haque
Dates
2017 November 11
Quantity
561 megabytes, (1 online resource (4 audio files (51 min., 4 sec.)))  :  WAV
Collection Number
SR 12281
Summary
Oral history interview with Sabina Haque conducted by Sankar Raman on November 11, 2017, for The Immigrant Story. Haque was born in Ohio and raised in Pakistan. She returned to the United States in the 1990s to attend Smith College and also studied art at Boston University. She became an artist and art professor at Portland State University.
Repository
Oregon Historical Society Research Library
1200 SW Park Avenue
Portland, OR
97205
Telephone: 503-306-5240
Fax: 503-219-2040
libreference@ohs.org
Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research.

Languages
English

Biographical NoteReturn to Top

Sabina Zeba Haque was born in Columbus, Ohio, in 1974. Soon after her birth, the family returned to her father's hometown of Karachi, Pakistan, and she spent the next 18 years there. At age 18, she came to the United States to attend Smith College in Massachusetts. She then studied art at Boston University, where she earned a master's degree in 1998. She became an artist based in Portland, Oregon, and began working as an art professor at Portland State University in 2006.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

This oral history interview with Sabina Haque was conducted by Sankar Raman on November 11, 2017. The interview was recorded for The Immigrant Story, an organization that documents and archives the stories of immigrants and refugees in the United States. In this interview, Haque discusses her family background and early life in Karachi, Pakistan, including living under the U.S-backed dictatorship of President Zia-ul-Haq; being raised as a secular Muslim; and her education. She also talks about the changes in Pakistan during her lifetime, particularly in regard to women's rights. Haque discusses leaving Pakistan to attend Smith College in Massachusetts and adjusting to life in the United States. She then talks about going on to study art at Boston University and the disapproval of her parents. She also talks about her marriage. Haque discusses her art and how her cultural and ethnic identities inform her work. She talks about her experience as a Pakistani with white American heritage and the uncertainty her family has felt in the political climate of President Donald Trump's administration. She closes the interview by discussing maintaining relationships with racist family members, the importance of art in bridging political divides, and her hopes for a more diverse Portland City Council.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Preferred Citation

Oral history interview with Sabina Haque, by Sankar Raman, SR 12281, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.

Restrictions on Use

Joint copyright for this interview is held by the Oregon Historical Society and The Immigrant Story. Use is allowed according to the following statement: In Copyright – Educational Use Permitted, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-EDU/1.0/

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Acquisition Information

Gift of The Immigrant Story, July 2020 (Lib. Acc. RL2020-018).

Bibliography

An article about Sabina Haque, "The Best Of Both Worlds" by Hanin Najjar, was based on this interview and published on The Immigrant Story website at https://theimmigrantstory.org/both-worlds/

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

Description Dates
Oral history interview with Sabina Haque 2017 November 11

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Artists--Oregon
  • Islamophobia--United States
  • Muslims--Oregon--Portland
  • Pakistani Americans--Oregon

Personal Names

  • Haque, Sabina Zeba, 1974-

Geographical Names

  • United States--Immigration and emigration

Form or Genre Terms

  • interviews

Other Creators

  • Personal Names
    • Raman, Sankar (interviewer)