Egypt: Intersection of East & West - A Curriculum Workshop

On Saturday, April 21, Dr. Barbara Cook, Asst. Prof. of English, and Shamim Rajpar, Reference Librarian, attended a day-long workshop at the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg. The workshop sessions highlighted the historical and contemporary significance of Egypt as a crossroads for the convergence of East and West and the impact on Egyptian society, throughout the ages, of this array of influences. Topics covered included an overview of Egyptian history from the Greco-Roman period to the present, the Egyptian Economy, Islam's Changing Identity, the Regime of Mubarak, and Egyptian music and humor. Presenters were all subject specialists; several of them were native Egyptians.

The backdrop to lunch, a delicious offering of Egyptian cuisine, was the movie Driving an Arab Street, a film that follows Egyptian taxi drivers as they navigate the streets of Cairo and share their diverse perspectives on American and Egyptian society, culture, politics, and the relationship between these two civilizations. The film was followed by comments from Moustafa Ayad, a staff writer for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette who was born in Egypt and educated in the United States.

Aside from gaining many new ideas for the development of curriculum materials, extensive bibliographies were provided to the participants.

The workshop was organized and presented by the Global Studies Program at the University of Pittsburgh and CERIS, The Consortium for Educational Resources on Islamic Studies, a collaboration of academic, non-profit, and religious organizations in the tri-state area (Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.) CERIS facilitates program development and disseminates information on Islamic Studies to students, faculty, and the larger communities served. Islamic Studies encompasses many languages, literatures, and disciplines, and extends from the seventh century to the present and across broad geographical areas of the world. Through collaboration and the sharing resources among the 28 members, CERIS is able to bring more resources to member institutions in these fields of study, and to provide useful information including funding opportunities for scholarly research, guest speakers, film screenings, conferences, and course listings.

Mount Aloysius College is a member of CERIS. Please contact Shamim Rajpar, srajpar@mtaloy.edu, or visit the CERIS website, http://www.ucis.pitt.edu/ceris/about.html, for additional information.