Student Travel to the Middle East

by Betsy Barlow

At a time when politics and culture in the Middle East are badly misunderstood in the United States, it is heartening to report that many groups are traveling to the area to see it for themselves. Students from Sherwood High School in Montgomery County, Maryland, traveled to Egypt for 10 days in April, where they were the guests of students at the Cairo International School. The Sherwood School specializes in world cultures, so the excursion was a natural extension and enhancement of the students' school program.

Mrs. Mimi Hassanein, a parent volunteer in the system, facilitated the arrangements with the Egyptian hosts. This very successful trip was the second made by students in the school, and served to arouse further interest in Egyptian history and culture. The students made many friends, and will continue their friendships through phone and e-mail contact.

The students enjoyed visiting the pyramids and the Valley of the Kings in Luxor. One group of students took many photos and will be making a report soon at the high school. Students developed a new attitude toward Islam, and saw how the religion is connected to the society, according to Mrs. Hassanein. Included in the group were high school faculty and the superintendant of schools. Others interested in developing such a program in Egypt for schools in their area should contact Mrs. Hassanein at (301) 774-5388.

Summer Language Programs

A language program for students entering grades 9-12 will be offered by Northfield Mount Hermon (MA) School July 2-Aug. 13 in Egypt for students wishing to learn Arabic and in Israel for students wishing to learn Hebrew. The plan for this first summer is for three hours of instruction six mornings a week, two hours of computer lab, and structured evening study sessions. In the summer of 1998, successful students may apply for phase II, a total-immersion experience at the American University in Cairo in Egypt or in Jerusalem. Included are visits to ancient historical and cultural sites and to local markets where students may hone their language skills. For further information, contact the director, Dr. Mohammed Jiyad, 82 Ripley Road, Montague, MA 01351; phone (413) 367-9423; e-mail mmjiyad@amherst.edu

College students across the United States will have the opportunity to study in Aleppo, Syria for six weeks this summer, under the auspices of the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations. According to Professor Ron Stockton, who has escorted groups in the past and will this year be the faculty escort for the Summer in Syria program, the American students are usually astounded at how friendly the Syrian people are.

Each student has many pressing invitations to come to a Syrian home for a meal. Students are also surprised at the depth of Syrian culture. They enjoy visiting the historic mosques, churches and palaces. They also are amazed at the existence of a large and diverse Christian community, particularly in the Aleppo area. Students also hear personal stories and gain perspectives that they have never heard before, such as the Syrian view of the Golan Heights issue. The students also get a chance to meet with the former occupants of the Golan Heights, now refugees in Syria. Students found Aleppo to be an ancient and friendly city, with a large university of over 100,000 students. In the course of their study, students also visit Palmyra, the ancient city in the desert; San Simeon, where a Christian saint sat on a pillar for 40 years; the Golan area; and Damascus. In both Aleppo and Damascus, the students like to visit the souqs and practice Arabic and bargaining techniques.

According to Stockton, the college students are carefully chosen and are academically excellent. They have shown an interest in international affairs before the trip, although few of them know the Middle East in depth before they travel. In the last 10 years, there has been a delegation of at least 10 people in each group. Two alums of the program are now in the U.S. State Department, two are pursuing careers related to the Middle East, and some are currently working on advanced degrees or studying Arabic, and of course many are still undergraduates. The friendships formed between Syrian and American students over the summers, according to Stockton, make the program mutually beneficial.

Colloquium at Princeton on the Politics of Culture

Princeton University's Institute for the Transregional Study of the Contemporary Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia presented a Colloquium on the Politics of Culture in Arab Societies in an Era of Globalization May 9-11. The event was structured around the presentation of texts, films, music, literature, and papers. Topics covered in the discussion included globalization, the role of minorities and/or women in national culture, science and cultural creativity, the role of regimes in promoting/exploiting cultural activities, the meaning of "post modernity" in non-metropolitan societies, the effect of religious politics on artistic creativity, and the relation between everyday life and creativity.

The program, planned by Visiting Fellow Walter Armbrust and Institute Director Abdellah Hammoudi, included the Institute's Visiting Fellow for the year, Adonis, who read his own poetry. Films screened in connection with the event were Jean Chamoun and Mai Masri's "Suspended Dreams," about rebuilding in Lebanon, and Merzak Allouache's "Bab al-Oeud City." Topics addressed in panel discussions included: "The Future of Arab Media," "The Cinema and National Identity: Voice and Representation," "The Politics of Representing Arab Societies in the U.S.," "Music and Trans-Nationalism," "The Culture of Conflict," "The Politics of Literature: Postcolonial Subjects, Postcolonial Polemics," and "Censorship and Authority."

Earlier this year Princeton also hosted three filmmakers who discussed their films. Michel Goldman and Virginia Danielson in connection with "Umm Kulthum: A Voice Like Egypt"; Michel Khleifi, who discussed his "Forbidden Marriages in the Holy Land," and Asma' al-Bakri, who spoke about "Beggars and Noblemen."

Walter Armbrust was the consultant for a Festival of Contemporary Egyptian Cinema at the University of Pennsylvania, funded by the University and the American Research Center in Egypt and the International House Film Program. Livia Alexander, the organizer of the festival, brought several directors and scholars to campus to discuss "Terrorism and Kebab" by Sherif Arafa, "Asphalt Devils," by Usama Fauzi, "Life, My Passion" by Magdi Ahmad Ali, "America Abracadabra," by Khayri al-Bakri, "Beggars and Noblemen,' by Asma' al-Bakri, and "On Boys, Girls, and the Veil" by Yousry Nasrallah. We have heard that the event was extremely successful. Each film was shown twice, with an average of 150 people attending each screening.

Qana Commemoration

On April 18 the Dearborn, Michigan community, home of the two young American children who lost their lives with more than 100 other innocent men, women and children in Qana, Lebanon on April 18, 1996, remembered the victims in a community march, an evening program, a media event, and the Friday sermons at several mosques.

University Programs

The University of Chicago Center for Middle Eastern Studies hosted the 12th annual Middle East History and Theory Conference on April 18 and 19. The program provides a forum for students and faculty in the social sciences and humanities to present and discuss papers relating to Middle Eastern history, culture, society or politics from the 7th century to the present.

The Middle East Studies Center at Ohio State University will sponsor its annual Summer Workshop on Middle Eastern Cultures for precollegiate social studies and foreign language teachers June 16-27. The Center will also join with the Department of Near Eastern, Judaic and Hellenic Languages and Literatures and with Istanbul and Marmara Universities to conduct a four-week intensive study abroad program from July 1 to July 31. For more information, call (614) 688-4406.

The journal Gender and History has issued a call for papers on "Feminisms and Internationalism" for a special issue of the magazine. The editors seek essays which address the theme of the history of internationalism in feminist theory and practice. Essays should be around 9,000 words in length. To submit a manuscript or for further information, contact co-editor Mrinalini Sinha, Department of History, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, IL 62901-4519; phone (618) 453-4391.

Resources Available

An issue packet on Bosnia-Herzegovina is now availabale for $19.95. The packet contains an overview of the Bosnian conflict, basic information, documents and supplementary information, as well as information sources. Contact ACCESS, 1701 K Street, NW, 11th floor, Washington, DC 20026; phone (202) 223-7949.

Culturegrams for most of the world's nations and infograms on international law, travel and families, plus books and a Journal of International and Area Studies is available from the David M. Kennedy Center for International Studies at Brigham Young University, 280 Herald R. Clark Building, PO Box 24538, Provo, Utah 84602-4538. The toll-free number is (800) 528-6279.

The ERIC Clearinghouse for Social Studies/Social Science Education Catalog is available from the Social Studies Development Center at Indiana University, 2805 East Tenth Street, Suite I 20, Bloomington Indiana 47408-2698, or by calling (800) 266-3815.

Michigan Arab Cultural Week

The Michigan Arab community is celebrating Arab culture with a variety of programs. A photo exhibit, "A Century in the Life of Arab Detroit," was shown in the rotunda of the State Capitol Building April 28 through May 9. The Detroit Institute of Arts is presenting May 1-July 31 "The Pen is Mightier ," an exhibit of Islamic calligraphy. Contact the DIA at (313) 833-4249 for a complete schedule of lectures and workshops which will accompany this exhibit.

The Detroit Office of Bilingual Education hosted a reception for Detroit Public Schools administrators in celebration of Arab Cultural Week on May 2. The Latino and the Arab communities together celebrated Cinco de Mayo, Usmiyyah Fanniyyah (the Fifth of May, A Night of Art) on May 3, 6:30 p.m.-9:30 p.m., at the Bowen Branch Library of the Detroit Public Library system. Also on May 3, "The Marriage of Figaro" was presented at 8 p.m. at the Detroit Opera House starring Syrian American singer Helen Donath. On May 4 the Sunday morning "Brunch with Bach" at the Detroit Institute of Arts featured the Arabic Tradional Arts Ensemble, with Nadim Dlaikan on the nye, John Satweh on the kanoun, Karim Bader playing the oud, Hisham Mishmish the violin, Osama Naja the drum, and Ibrahim El-Saghir the def. On the same day, WTVS, the Detroit PBS station, showed the award-winning documentary "Tales from Arab Detroit."