Participants in the Islam seminar visit the Umayyad (early Arab) palace on the Citadel in Amman, Jordan. (Photo courtesy of seminar participant Susanne Hofstra.)

Twelve CIC faculty members in various fields participated in a well-received three-week seminar January 3-24 on “Teaching About Islam and Middle Eastern Culture” at the American Center of Oriental Research in Amman, Jordan. This seminar, offered by CIC in collaboration with the Council of American Overseas Research Centers (CAORC) and with support from the U.S. Department of State, provided the opportunity for CIC faculty members to learn more about the Middle East, visit archaeological sites such as Petra and Jerash, and think about how to develop courses or adapt existing courses in order to give more attention to the Middle East and/or Islam.
     Participants also met with several local experts and dignitaries, including H.R.H. Prince El Hassan bin Talal, who is a sponsor of the Royal Institute for Inter-Faith Studies, to discuss the three monotheistic religions of the Middle East.
     Mary Ellen Lane, executive director of CAORC, said the Council was pleased with the CIC partnership and delighted the seminar was so well received. She said, “CAORC hopes to continue to offer future programs on a variety of issues for faculty members from CIC institutions. We are particularly glad to be able to reach out to undergraduate teachers in this way.”
     Katherine Hoffman of Saint Anselm College (NH) said the seminar gave her the opportunity “to study and interact with people, gaining insight into a culture and history that I otherwise would never have been able to do on my own. I deeply appreciated the hospitality and generosity of all those that I met, and expect that the new course I am preparing on Islamic Art and Architecture this coming fall will be considerably richer than it would have been had I not taken this trip.”
     Other participants were equally enthusiastic about the program. Ernest M. Limbo of Tougaloo College (MS), said he plans to offer two new courses because of his experience in Jordan. “These courses are a history course tentatively titled ‘A History of the Middle East’ and a world religions course through the religion department. This will be the first time that any courses dealing with Islam or the Middle East have ever been offered at Tougaloo College, which is a historically black, liberal arts college in Jackson, Mississippi.”
     Ed Macierowski of Benedictine College (KS) said, “Like Rome, Jordan provides the stratification of many historical levels at once: Nabataean, Roman, Byzantine, Umayyad, Abbasid, Ottoman, and contemporary. Two of our most important guides were professional archaeologists, Pierre Bikai (head of ACOR) and Ghazi Bishei (former head of the Ministry of Antiquities) who managed to out-do any other professional guides I’ve ever heard; they practically made the very stones to speak.”

CIC faculty members attended lectures on "Teaching About Islam and Middle Eastern Culture" during the three-week seminar in Amman, Jordan. (Photo courtesy of seminar participant Susanne Hofstra.)

     Craig Wansink of Virginia Wesleyan College said the seminar was both helpful and thought-provoking. “When you experience a snowstorm in the Middle East, when Crown Prince Hassan speaks eloquently about both Jordanian and American ideals, when ordinary Jordanians on the street clearly have the ability to differentiate between American policy, on the one hand—and American citizens and ideals—on the other, you then do look at life very differently and you can’t help but be impressed…. Because of my experiences there, I am re-writing an all-campus lecture I am delivering on democracy, adding a one-hour session to my New Testament course on ‘Islam, the Qur’an, and the New Testament;’ and adding a section to my world religions class on ‘Popular Forms of Islam,’ among other activities.”
     And Mary Hendrickson of Wilson College (PA) said “Since coming back, I have already shared with students in some of my classes examples from what I learned about the culture and politics in the Middle East. There is an urgent need for citizens of the United States to obtain more accurate information about the Middle East and Islam than that which is portrayed in the mass media. As a seminar participant, I have a responsibility to challenge my students to think beyond the existing stereotypes.”
     Participants were selected from 135 nominations.

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Last updated: March 2004
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