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Sixth Annual Summer Workshop
Zeina Azzam Seikaly
Published in 2004
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For five days in early July this summer, 24 teachers from local area schools attended the outreach program’s annual summer workshop for educators, “Approaches to Teaching the Middle East.” They benefited from the expertise of a number of professors and scholars who offered multidisciplinary perspectives on Middle Eastern history, society, economics, politics, and culture. The program was partially underwritten by funds from the US Department of Education-funded National Resource Center on the Middle East, an entity at Georgetown University in which the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies plays a major role.
History
Author and cultural historian Dr. Yvonne Seng spoke on “The Crusader Code: Historical Images, Modern Implications,” in which she connected the images and symbols of the Crusades to current relations between the Middle East and the West. After providing a history of the events that led up to the Crusades, and through the medieval period and up to the early 20th century, she gave examples of how individuals—from George W. Bush to Usama bin Laden—use the terminology of the Crusades to rally support for their political agendas. Dr. Seng emphasized the importance of the cultural perceptions of history and urged teachers to examine many different sources in order to get a full picture of historical events. John Ruedy, Professor Emeritus at Georgetown’s History Department, made a presentation on “The Arab-Israeli Conflict: Contrasting Narratives,” in which he demonstrated a Palestinian and an Israeli perspective on the events leading to the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. For each narrative he spoke in first person and offered glimpses into the personal experiences of both peoples. Professor Ruedy guided the group into identifying the bases of argument in each narrative, which involved claims of historical, legal, moral, economic, and survival/defense rights. He also surveyed
the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict and used primary source documents to investigate UN resolutions and other attempts at peacemaking.
Cultural and Societal Dynamics
Dr. Abla Amawi (MAAS 1986), of the United Nations Development Programme in Amman, Jordan, tackled the issues of “Gender, Agency, and Empowerment in the Arab World.” She said that women’s status in the Arab region varies greatly from one society to another, and in order to understand it fully, one must analyze gender roles and relationships, cultural norms, patriarchy, political structure, family structure, and tribalism (including tribal loyalty, kinship, and religion). Dr. Amawi catalogued some of the dynamics hindering reform of women’s rights as including the region’s focus on security at the expense of democratic development and top-down (rather than grassroots) reforms. She advocated finding solutions within a cultural context that include spreading awareness among Arab women of their legal rights. Taking a more general view, Susan Ossman, Visiting Associate Professor at CCAS, explored “Everyday Life, Everyday Things: How Anthropologists
Are Studying the Middle East Today.” Anthropologists, she said, look at culture as a living organism and consider all the different forces that work together to shape cultures, such as economics, class differences, religion, language, etc. She gave a brief overview of scholars and travelers throughout history who have studied Middle Eastern and North African cultures, such as Ibn Battuta and Ibn Khaldun, and also examined the concept of Orientalism and the colonial project in the region. Professor Ossman brought in some artifacts from North Africa and discussed how such objects can be used in the classroom to teach about culture and society. Sulayman Nyang, Professor of African Studies at Howard University,
first investigated the “Connections Among the Abrahamic Faiths,” listing and elaborating on the points of convergence and divergence in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Some of the similarities include the belief in one God, life after death, and heaven and hell, Day of Judgment, angels as intermediaries between the divine and human, the concept of prophecy as a way that God communicates with humans, the basic story of Adam and Eve, and the importance of family, good deeds, and faith communities. He mentioned some of the differences as including how the concept of original sin is understood, the reverence of the Virgin Mary by Christianity and Islam, the belief in who the intended sacrificial son of Abraham was (Isaac or Ishmael), and others. Professor Nyang also explained the history of Islam in the United States, starting before and during the African slave trade, the immigration of Muslims to the Americas, and the development and growth of indigenous Islam in the African American community.
Economics and Development
Two guests from Saudi Aramco in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, gave a brief presentation on “Opportunities for Energy Education: Focus–Saudi Arabia.” Mr. Nasser al-Nafisee, Manager of Public Relations, and Ms. Nabilah al-Tunisi, General Supervisor of Projects Controls and Estimating, talked about oil and development in Saudi Arabia, and showed an animated video, “But Where Does It Come From?” about the process of oil production. Aramco, a long-time supporter of the Center’s outreach program, generously provided resources to all the teachers, including a DVD of the film as well as a music CD and print resources. Professor Tarik Yousef, the Sheikh Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah Chair in Arab Studies at CCAS, discussed “Development and Policy Reform in the Middle East Since 1950.” During the last fifty years, he noted, the state in the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region developed into an “interventionist” one and assumed the role of an agent of broad transformation. Professor Yousef discussed the role that oil plays in the region and how it distinguishes MENA from other regions and legitimizes the power of the state. He explained that the dramatic growth of the labor force in MENA is taxing resources and producing high unemployment rates, thus necessitating new development strategies; Professor Yousef said that these should include educational reform, gender empowerment, and transparency and accountability in government.
Politics
Samer Shehata, Visiting Assistant Professor at CCAS, tackled contemporary
political challenges with a presentation on “America and the Middle East Before and After September 11, 2001.” He said that after World War II, the United States had three overarching policy considerations regarding the Middle East: oil, the Arab-Israeli conflict, and the containment of Communism; after 9/11/01, the war on terrorism became the major policy focus. Professor Shehata cited polling information in the Arab world showing that the United States is viewed very poorly in the region, though he noted that Arabs say they hate US policies, not the American people. They perceive Washington as an unfair broker in the Israel-Palestine issue, as a supporter of authoritarian regimes, and as misguided in its invasion and occupation of Iraq. Although the Iraqis are happy that Saddam Hussein has been overthrown, he explained, they are ambivalent about the US military presence there; the Iraqis’ most urgent need at this time is security, a crucial element that the US army has been unable to provide.
Literature
The literature component of the workshop comprised a presentation by Lourdes Maria Alvarez, Assistant Professor of Spanish and Comparative Literature at Catholic University, on “Kalila wa Dimna: Storytelling, Statecraft, and Dissidence.” The group had read the book, Tales of Kalila wa Dimna, before the workshop, and a discussion ensued about this collection of stories that originally came from India and was translated into Arabic by Ibn al-Muqaffa` in the eighth century. Professor Alvarez provided a historical overview of the medieval Arab/Muslim world and highlighted the importance of the vigorous translation and scholarly efforts during that period in all fields, including science, philosophy, astronomy, mathematics, and medicine.
Conclusion
On the final morning of the workshop, the group boarded a bus to visit the Freer Gallery of Art and the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery of Art to view Islamic art exhibits, including “Caliphs and Kings: The Art and Influence of Islamic Spain.” The afternoon session was devoted to presentations by the teachers themselves–those who had elected to take the workshop for GU credit and were developing a unit plan based on what they had learned during the week. Themes included the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, connections among the Abrahamic faiths, water conflict in the Middle East, women and gender issues, and overview lessons that include the study of history, geography, economics, and religion.The workshop was very well received and teachers were excited about integrating their new knowledge and resources into classroom instruction. Feedback from the evaluation forms included the following statements: “I am so very grateful that the Center can offer this first rate quality program to teachers. Each and every day brings so many things that can be adopted and adapted to the classroom”; and, “It is a pleasure to be exposed to so many ideas and interpretations from a variety of speakers and sources. We are treated as professionals”; and, “I gained a much better Middle East/Arab/Muslim perspective on the issues facing this area. The program exceeded my expectations.”
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