Posters in my Arabic 201 class

One of the projects that my students in  Arabic 201 class were asked to work on this semester (spring 2012) is to create a poster.

The first poster (Jon & Maggie) is about the food fights in the Arab World: Israel clams that Humus, Tabouli & Falafal are originally from Israel and (of course) most of the Arabs don’t agree with this clam.

The second poster (Kate & Allie) is about the Arab clothes. Westerns think that Arabs usually wear long dark clothes however (as this poster shows) the clothes are very colorful.

The third poster (Thahitun & Brooke) is about Jordan: Two students in my 201 spent a semester abroad in Jordan. in their poster they talked about the life  there, the universities, foods, clothing and fun activities they did.

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Poetry for Peace – Spring 2012

Wednesday February 29th – 2012, During “Poetry for Peace”, students from my Arabic 102 class read three short poems in Arabic:
1- Kalimat by Nizar Qabbani
2- Al 2awoulad by Gibran Khalil Gibran
3- Kitab al 7oub by Nizar Qabbani

Poetry for peace is part of the World Languages Week organized by the Language Resource Center, Department of Modern Languages and Literatures, and the Center for International and Intercultural Studies.


from left to right: Kudrat, Germain, Courtney & Kim

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Capulet and Montagues Jordan Style!!!!

As most are aware, the Middle East right now is under constant protest, revolution, violence and general instability. News reports here are constantly covering the revolution in Syria the violence in Cairo and for us students going through Amid East that makes traveling quite unreliable as one weekend it might be safe to go to a market or part of 3mman/MENA and the next day it will be forbidden.

Rest assured my program and host family are taking the largest precautions to ensure my safety. I have political insurance so in case something does decide to blow up in Jordan(pun intended) I have a free flight out of the country back home through the American embassy. I receive constant emails from this insurance telling me whats going on, gossip about attacks and forbidden travel warnings. My program director is also very involved as she constantly texts us, warning us of areas and demands a text response.. if we don’t respond we get in a lot of trouble… if we go to one of these places…. we get sent home

Now Jordan in comparison is one of the most politically stable and liberal country within the Middle East, however that does not exclude her from sporadic violence. With this said the past 2 days in 3mman have been under protest. Two of the largest families here have decided to go to war with each other in the streets much like in Romeo and Juliet with the Capulets and the Montagues. Except they chose for a prime location the the area I live in…. So the police has completely blockaded the area allowing no one in and no one out.

This would have been fine it when this happened I was at home however I has with a a bunch of friends chilling at their apartment. So when one of my friends was driving me home there was no way to enter the eighth circle where I live… Luckily for me my Host dad knows the area extremely well and found a way to meet up with me and get me home. Since then… 2 days ago the blockade is still there and I have not been able to leave my apartment. Which is so much lame sauce because this is a four day weekend and my friends and I were supposed to tour the city going to museums markets and shopping… WHY CANT WE ALL JUST BE FRIENDS

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Capulet and Montagues Jordan Style!

As most are aware, the Middle East right now is under constant protest, revolution, violence and general instability. News reports here are constantly covering the revolution in Syria the violence in Cairo and for us students going through Amid East that makes traveling quite unreliable as one weekend it might be safe to go to a market or part of 3mman/MENA and the next day it will be forbidden.

Rest assured my program and host family are taking the largest precautions to ensure my safety. I have political insurance so in case something does decide to blow up in Jordan(pun intended) I have a free flight out of the country back home through the American embassy. I receive constant emails from this insurance telling me whats going on, gossip about attacks and forbidden travel warnings. My program director is also very involved as she constantly texts us, warning us of areas and demands a text response.. if we dont respond we get in a lot of trouble… if we go to one of these places…. we get sent home

Now Jordan in comparison is one of the most politically stable and liberal country within the Middle East, however that does not exclude her from sporadic violence. With this said the past 2 days in 3mman have been under protest. Two of the largest families here have decided to go to war with each other in the streets much like in Romeo and Juliet with the Capulets and the Montagues. Except they chose for a prime location the the area I live in…. So the police has completely blockaded the area allowing no one in and no one out.

This would have been fine it when this happened I was at home however I has with a a bunch of friends chilling at their apartment. So when one of my friends was driving me home there was no way to enter the eighth circle where I live… Luckily for me my Host dad knows the area extremely well and found a way to meet up with me and get me home. Since then… 2 days ago the blockade is still there and I have not been able to leave my apartment. Which is so much lame sauce because this is a four day weekend and my friends and I were supposed to tour the city going to museums markets and shopping… WHY CANT WE ALL JUST BE FRIENDS

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Ah We Noss – Nancy Ajram

This is my favorite Arabic song. Hope you like it too!

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How Has Rentierism Affected The Arab Spring?

 

I just finished writing my semester’s research paper (what a relief!) – regarding rentierism in the Middle East. The term “rentier state” refers to a nation whose economy is almost entirely based off of the exportation of natural resources. The term was coined by a researcher, Hazem Beblawi, in the 1980′s, who sought to find a relationship between “rentier” states and the development of authoritarian rule. In “rentier” states, the wealth of the nation is controlled by the elite few who run the government. The government’s role is to process the resources, and then redistribute wealth throughout the nation, effectively creating a welfare state. Now, redistribution through this system institutes a hierarchical system where the elite few hold the majority of the political power, and the majority of the population retains almost no say in the political process (essentially, the economy in a rentier state creates the foundation for authoritarian rule to flourish).

examples of rentier states are Algeria, Libya, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Jordan, Syria, and other Middle Eastern countries. However, rentier states are not limited to the Middle East, and the political outcomes are not always the same – for example the Asian Tigers were also considered rentier states at one point or another, as well as countries in South/Central America (Ex: Venezuela).

Now, the reason I bring this up is to note the significance of economics on the political outcomes of countries. The international political economy has had dramatic effects on the development of nations. What may be more noteworthy, is that the economic system of rentier states is not a sustainable one. The nation is only effective as long as the “rents” from natural resources keep coming in.

Without the inflow of money, the government fails to redistribute wealth throughout the state, leaving many people pissed off! During the 1970′s many Middle Eastern states faced big problems when the price of oil dropped off the table —> equating to a shortage of money for each respective rentier state government. As finite resources (oil supplies) become more scarce, countries who rely on this natural resources need to start diversifying their economies in preparation for a post-oil era. Most times, this means that these nations need to liberalize (not the #1 choice for a authoritative government!).

I am wondering how the economy has effected the Arab Spring. Have rentier states (such as Libya) failed to redistribute wealth properly, and if so, how has that affected political mobilization? Has economic liberalization translated to political liberalization, and if so, what will it take to institute democracy?

There is no doubt in my mind that economic factors have been a leading contributor in the Arab Spring. In essence, a citizen who is being sufficiently provided for would not have a reason to oppose a government politically. I feel that the large-scale riots associated with the Arab Spring and the military crackdowns of such protests (like in the above article about Syria) are a reflection of a country’s inefficient transition into the global economy.

What do you think?

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Shawarma!

Shawarma town in Ottawa

“شاورما” (Shawarma) is one of my favorite Arab foods. Shawarma is a sandwich-like wrap, served with either lamb, goat, chicken, turkey, or beef. I usually order mine with chicken. It is eaten with pita bread, tabbouleh, fattoush, taboon bread, tomato, cucumber, hummus, and tahini. The Shawarma sauce is what makes the sandwich! It is a made from a mixture of yogurt, mayonaise, lemon juice, and cummin, and it is absolutely delicious!

 

It’s probably good that the nearest Shawarma town is an hour and a half away, because I would be the #1 customer otherwise!

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Al Jazeera

So, I learned about this in another one of my classes, Politics of Mass Media.  I learned that only two major cities in the U.S. feature the program al jazeera and burlington vermont is one of them!!! I thought that was really cool so I attached the website so all of us could get a little more wordly news.

http://www.aljazeera.com/

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