Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, January/February 2000, page 69, 70

Education

Model Arab League Programs Set to Start

By Betsy Barlow

High school students will be honing their skills for negotiating and debating at Model Arab League meetings in six different localities across the country from January through April. Under the sponsorship of the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations (NCUSAR), each participating school sends a team of players to represent one of the Arab League countries, with different members of the team undertaking different committee assignments.

The exercise requires extensive knowledge of the agenda, persuasive powers and negotiating skills. On the program this year are issues which will require some research and thoughtful negotiation. Committees at both the high school and university levels will discuss the impact of stagnant oil revenues on national and regional development, the future of Jerusalem, Arab-Iranian relations, international and unilateral sanctions, weapons of mass destruction, the Turkish-Israeli alliance, the needs of refugees and environmental issues, among other topics.

The first program will be held Jan. 27-28 at the Marist School in Atlanta, GA. The coordinator is Louisa Moffitt, 3790 Ashford-Dunwoody Rd., Atlanta, GA 30319-1899; phone (770) 457-7201. On Feb. 5-6 Regis University will host schools around Denver. The coordinator is Dr. Gladys Franz-Murphy, History Department, Regis University, 3333 Regis Blvd., Denver, CO 80221; phone (303) 458-4281.

Three models will be held during March. The South Central region will be hosted by the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville on March 3-4. The coordinators are Dr. Mounir and Montez Farah, Room 108, Student Development Building, Room 108, Fayetteville, AR 72701.

Ohio schools will meet at Ohio State University on March 10, and will be coordinated by Kim Schreiber, assistant director of the Ohio State Middle East Studies Center, 322D Oxley Hall, 1712 Neil Avenue, Columbus, Ohio 43210; phone (614) 688-4406.

Virginia schools will gather on March 17-18 at Old Dominion University in Norfolk. Contact Dr. Fran Hassencahl, Speech and Communication Department, phone (757) 683-3828 for more information.

The last high school event will be held at Georgetown University on April 21-22, hosted by Donovan Rinker-Morris, a staff member of the NCUSAR sponsors, phone (202) 293-0801.

At the college level 11 regional leagues will meet: in Michigan, March 1-4; Ohio, March 2-4; Rocky Mountains, March 2-4; Northwest in Forest Grove, OR, March 23-25; Southeast at Spartanburg, SC, March 24-26; Southwest March 30-April 1 in Commerce, TX; Southern California in Los Angeles, March 31-April 1; the National group in Washington, DC on April 5-8; the Great Plains in Orange City, Iowa on April 6-8; the Northern Rockies in Missoula, MT April 13-15; and the West Coast in San Franciso on April 14-16. There are still some country vacancies in each event. Interested schools should inquire promptly.

Good work as a member of a delegation is rewarded by the opportunity to participate in the National Council's overseas study program, for which Model Arab League or Kerr scholar experience is required. In the spring of 2000, the NCUSAR will take a group of Kerr Scholars and Model Arab League alumni to Kuwait. Other programs open to university students are a June 5-28 Moroccan study tour based in Fez, with intensive modern standard Arabic study, lectures in English, home stays, and field trips to historical and cultural attractions; and also a summer study program in Aleppo, Syria, from June 26-Aug. 7, with intensive Arabic and the history and culture of Syria and the Middle East. Contact NCUSAR for more information at (202) 293-0801.

National Endowment Programs

Programs for both K-12 and college/university educators have been announced for next summer by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). Every year the program invites proposals and provides funding for seminars and institutes to be held the following summer. In the college/university competition, Prof. Fred. M. Donner will offer at the University of Chicago an institute June 19-July 21 on "Islamic Origins." For further information or to apply, contact Fred Donner at the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, University of Chicago, 1155 E. 58th St., Chicago, IL 60637; phone (773) 702-9544; e-mail: < This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it >.

At the K-12 level there are two programs of interest to specialists on the Middle East and Islam. Diana Eck, professor of comparative religion at Harvard University, will offer a 6-week seminar June 26-Aug. 4 on "World Religions in America." For information or enrollment applications, contact Ellie Pierce, The Pluralism Project, Harvard University, 201 Vanserg Hall, 25 Francis Ave., Cambridge, MA 02138; phone (617) 496-2481; e-mail: < This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it >.

In addition, Ariel Salzmann of New York University will present an institute June 19-July 14 at New York University on "Muslim Europe: The Changing Cultural Contours of the West." For further information or enrollment applications, contact Hazel Sara Greenberg at the American Forum for Global Education, 120 Wall St., Suite 2600, New York, NY 10005; phone (212) 624-1300, ext. 340; or e-mail: < This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it >. To participate in the summer programs, contact the directors, listed above.

These programs are especially attractive to educators because they are usually well-designed and the costs of books, travel to the site of the program and a stipend for expenses are covered by the National Endowment for the Humanities. Educators who might wish to offer a summer seminar or institute for either the K-12 teacher or the college/university professor level should apply for the summer 2001 program competition by March 1, 2000. For information on the institute application process, check the NEH Web site <http://www.neh.gov/grants> or contact Bruce Robinson, program officer at the NEH, phone (202) 606-8213.

Other Training Programs and Overseas Study Opportunities

Dar al Islam will offer two residential two-week Teachers' Institutes July 9-22 and again July 30-Aug. 12. The setting is the Dar al Islam mosque and school, a North African-style adobe structure on the mesa of the Sangre de Christo Mountain range in Abiquiu, New Mexico, one hour north of Santa Fe. Classes on Islamic faith, practice, history and culture are taught by university professors from the U.S. and abroad. Participants will become more familiar with teaching resources, as well as the techniques for integrating them into the social studies, religion or world history curriculum.

The sponsor provides books, art supplies, room and board, and in-state transportation. Participants pay for their travel and incidental expenses. For more information consult the Web site at <www.daralislam.org> or contact the director, Karima Alavi, at P.O. Box 180, Abiquiu, New Mexico 87510; phone (505) 685-4584.

The Southeast Regional Middle East and Islamic Studies Seminar (SERMEISS), a consortium of institutions in eight southeastern states, has been very busy recently. It offered a workshop on "The Islamic World" for faculty of the Westminster School in Atlanta, GA on Nov. 20. Speakers were Prof. Vernon Egger, professor of history at Georgia Southern, John Parcels, Department of Philosophy and Religion at Georgia Southern, and Louisa Moffitt, a teacher at the Marist school in Atlanta. The program was so well received that the group is planning another workshop this spring at Georgia Southern University in Statesboro.

SERMEISS will also provide a workshop on "Teaching Islam and the Qur'an in a Postcolonial World: Misconceptions and Stereotypes" at the ninth annual British Commonwealth and Postcolonial Studies Conference Feb. 24-26 in Savannah, Georgia. SERMEISS will also sponsor middle and high school faculty for the June trip to Syria sponsored by the National Council for U.S.-Arab Relations, mentioned above.

The Institute for the Transregional Study of the Contemporary Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia at Princeton University is inviting applications for two positions for the year 2000-2001 in connection with its theme: "The Middle East in the Next Millennium: Prospects for Peace and Democracy."

One position is for a visiting professor of transregional studies, who should be an academic of high stature with research, teaching and professional activities relevant to the theme. The other position is for a visiting fellow, who is expected to have recently received a Ph.D. or its equivalent, or who shows great promise in research and publication.

For more information, contact the Institute at 226 Bendheim Hall, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544; fax: (609) 258-3988. Deadline for receipt of applications is Jan. 21, 2000.

Arab-American students at the University of Michigan have announced a national Arab American Student Activism conference on Jan. 14-16. The theme of the conference is "Marching into the Millennium." The conference opens Friday evening with poetry reading, music and entertainment. On Saturday participants will attend panels on the media, literature, and activism affecting U.S. foreign policy, with an Iraqi activism panel planned for Sunday. This will be the second consecutive annual program hosted at the University of Michigan. The locale for the conference in 2001 will be decided at this conference.

Ed Lerner reports from Cape Cod that interest in the Middle East continues to grow in the adult education program (affiliated with Elderhostel) there. His course on "Understanding the Middle East" offered at Cape Cod Community College has been over-enrolled for the past two semesters. He therefore will offer the course again next semester.

Resources

Amica International has produced its annual "Mosques Around the World" calendar with stunning color images of mosques from different regions. The cost is $9.95, plus shipping and handling. To order, call 1 (800) 622-9256.

Betsy Barlow is the program coordinator for the University of Michigan's Center for Middle East and North African Studies in Ann Arbor.

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