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On Wednesday, April 2nd, the class of ARAB 102-1 was held in the language lab and the Video Conference room during the regular time of the class from 11:00 to 11:50. During that time the students were connected to through web cameras to another Arabic class at Washington University at San Louis. Students carried on a live conversation in Arabic with their counterparts talking about their study, daily life routine and other issues that pertain to the lessons they covered during their first year of Arabic. This activity was initiated and organized by Mr. Abdulkareem Ramadan, the Arabic Program Coordinator at UVA and Mr. Younasse Tarbouni from Washington University. Matthew Dickerson from ASCIT undertook the technical assistance preparation part. The students had an enjoyable time using Arabic in a real life situation where they had to communicate for a purpose and at the end of the hour they didn’t want to leave the language lab and asked for more session. Mr.Tarbouni had the same observation about his students from Wash U. I believe this technology is of great educational benefits in general and in for language learning in particular especially in a foreign language setting where the students typically lack opportunities to communicate with native speakers of the learnt language. It also provides a great potential of cross-culture communication through contacting native speakers in the native culture i.e, conversing in Arabic with students in Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, or any other Arab country. - Omima El Araby
Professor Farsaneh Milani's translation of poet's Simin Behbehan's poem "Homage to Being" appears in the article "Despite Odds, Women's Movement Persists in Iran" by Jacki Lyden and Davar Iran Ardalan. This NPR story can be read here.
Professor Mohammed Sawaie participated in University of Richmond's Arabian Nights, sponsored by the Arabic Language Program. Professor Sawaie read works by poet Mahmoud Darwish.
Professor Mehr Farooqi is interviewd by The Hindu: Magazine/Column of Continuity and Change on her new Oxford India Anthology of Modern Urdu Literature. Read the interview here.
Professor Roberta Micallef spoke to students and faculty about Turkish author Halide Edib's book Inside India.
Photo collage courtesy of Phil McEldowney
This Summer the Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures (AMELC) split up into two smaller, geographically, linguistically, historically, and culturally more unified departments: The Department of Middle Eastern and South Asian Languages and Cultures (MESALC) and the Department of East Asian Languages, Literatures, and Cultures (DEALLC).
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