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March 1995, pg. 76 Education Twenty-Two Places to Look for Teaching Resources on the Middle EastBy Sheila AnthonyNorth American teachers at the elementary through high school levels often are surprised to learn that there are excellent teaching resource materials available on the Middle East. The trick is to know where to find them. The reason for such availability goes back to the origin of area studies in the United States. Before 1957, a predilection for isolationism and a certain American-centered view of history had naturally found its way into U.S. classrooms. It was the first successful launching of an earth-orbiting satellite, the Sputnik, by the Soviet Union in l957 that jarred Americans into realizing that they knew very little about other cultures, languages and peoples. Congress responded with National Defense Act Title VI, which provided the U.S. Department of Education with funding for international "area" studies and for the study of designated "critical languages." These funds made possible the establishment of programs of regional studies, including Middle East studies centers throughout the country, as well as scholarships for students studying "critical" languages, which included Arabic, Persian and Turkish. A significant portion of this funding was designated specifically for "outreach" to American business, the media and schools. In addition, there are other centers not receiving federal funding which do similar work. (See list of resource centers below.) These Middle East Centers focus on the region from Morocco in the west to Afghanistan and Pakistan in the east. While each center has its own special expertise in faculty and materials, most have outreach programs that can provide books, audio visual materials, maps, and graduate students who are prepared to visit schools and talk with students. Middle East centers also develop their own resource kits and teaching units, which they offer free or at a nominal charge. The outreach directors themselves formed a national organization in l981 in order to share ideas and prevent duplication of efforts. Called the Middle East Outreach Council, or MEOC, Inc., it publishes a quarterly newsletter containing news on the activities of the various programs. Membership is $10 for an individual and $25 for an institution. Information and a list of "Resources for Teaching About the Middle East" from all the centers is available from Ms. Betsy Barlow at the University of Michigan's Middle East Studies Center, at the address below. UNIVERSITY-RELATED MIDDLE EAST OUTREACH PROGRAMSCOLUMBIA UNIVERSITY Middle East Institute Reeva Simon, Outreach 420 West 118th Street, 11th Floor EMORY UNIVERSITY Middle East Research Program Kenneth Stein, Director 203 Bowden Hall FORDHAM UNIVERSITY Middle East Studies Program John Entelis/Erich Saphir, Co-Directors Box 9, 113 West 60th Street GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY Community Resource Center Center for Contemporary Arab Studies Zeina A. Seikaly, Outreach 50 Intercultural Center HARVARD UNIVERSITY Center for Middle Eastern Studies Ms. Carol Shedd, Coordinator 1737 Cambridge Street, Room 517 Cambridge, MA 12138 (617) 495-4055 INDIANA UNIVERSITY Middle East Studies Program Maha Nour-Eldin, Outreach Goodbody Hall 313 NEW YORK UNIVERSITY Hagop Kevorkian Center for Near Eastern Studies Julie Malnig, Outreach 50 Washington Square South New York, NY 10003 (212) 998-8872 OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY Middle East Studies Center Frank Spaulding, Outreach 322 Oxley Hall, 1712 Neil Avenue Columbus, OH 43210 (614) 422-9660 PORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY Middle East Studies Center Marta Colburn, Outreach P.O. Box 751 PRINCETON UNIVERSITY Program in Near Eastern Studies Judy Cross, Outreach Jones Hall SOUTHEAST REGIONAL MIDDLE EAST AND ISLAMIC STUDIES SEMINAR (SERMEISS) SERMEISS Film Collection Louise Moffitt, Coordinator, Marist School 3790 Ashford-Dunwoody Road (ask for Media Center) TUFTS UNIVERSITY S.W. Asia & Islamic Civilization Program Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy Andrew Hess, Director Medford, MA 02155 (617) 628-7010 UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA Center for Middle Eastern Studies Amy Newhall, Outreach Franklin Building, Room 204 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, Center for Middle Eastern Studies Laurence Michalak, Outreach 372 Stephens Hall UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA G.E. von Grunebaum Center for Near Eastern Studies Jonathan Friedlander, Outreach 405 Hilgard Avenue UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO Center for Middle Eastern Studies Sandra Batmangelich, Outreach 5828 South University Avenue UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN Center for Middle Eastern and North African Studies Betsy Barlow, Outreach 144 Lane Hall UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA Middle East Center Mary Martin, Outreach 838 Williams Hall UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN Center for Middle Eastern Studies Deborah Litrell, Outreach Austin, TX 78712 (512) 471-3881 UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON Middle East Resource Center Charlotte Albright, Outreach 225 Thompson Hall (DR-05) Seattle, WA 98195 (206) 543-4227 UNIVERSITY OF UTAH Middle East Outreach Program Kent Kimball, Building 113 Salt Lake City, UT 84112 (810) 581-6181 UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA 614 Social Sciences Building 267 l9th Avenue South |