American Studies

This collaborative project aims to catalog the impact of education in shaping the underpinnings of the Arab Spring and the political uncertainty of its aftermath. It interrogates the existing intertwinement between educational and cultural productions and geopolitical formations in an attempt to underline a critical site of inquiry that continues to shape social movements across the Arab world.

In 2008, the World Bank indicated that there were several structural hurdles that must be overcome in order to create equitable educational opportunities for students in the Arab World. Some of the problems mentioned were overcrowded classrooms, inadequate facilities, ineffective pedagogic methods (with emphasis on test taking and memorization), and differential access to education in relation to urban-rural and gender divides (Bouteri, 2013). These hurdles continued and were made evident post-January 25, 2011 Egyptian revolution. While the political chaos resulted in revisions to texts over short periods of time, these revisions did not always meet the expectations of the population on what was needed for educational reform. However, despite the current educational climate, the revolution has brought hope to many who took it to social media to seek reform and to voice their displeasure over the undemocratic and contentious nature of education. Moreover, this discussion by youth regarding education through social media channels leads us to examine the spaces of formal and informal education in times of revolution, as well as the role that technology plays in education within the Arab context. Furthermore this leads us to examine the impact that these concepts might have in shaping future educational initiatives related to teacher preparation and pedagogy reformation in the Arab world.

As such we invite interested authors to write a 300 to 500 word prospectus that addresses at least one of the below areas for consideration in the forthcoming text, Education and the Arab Spring: Shifting Toward Democracy. These chapters will interrogate the existing educational system in the Arab context post-revolution/uprisings, and we posit the text will help to shape future policy and provide guiding principles regarding educational change in the Arab world. We seek chapters that examine and consider the future of Arab education through radically changing education in the context of shifting toward democracy through the lenses of:
a) the role of technology and education in the Arab world;
b) teacher preparation programs in the Arab world;
c) pedagogical reformation in the Arab world; and
d) the role of social media and informal learning in youth spaces in the Arab world.

We anticipate the following time frame for publication:
December 1, 2014: Deadline for prospectus submission
January 1, 2015: Acceptance/rejection notification emails sent to authors
June 1, 2015: Chapter drafts due and sent for review
August 30, 2015: Double-blind reviews returned
Mid-September, 2015: Book Workshop in Cairo for invited authors
October 15th: Final chapters due

Please submit your prospectus as a Word attachment to Eid Mohamad at eaam@gwu.edu or Hannah R. Gerber at hrg004@shsu.edu with subject heading Education and the Arab Spring. Please include your last name in document name (e.g., Mohamad_prospectus.doc) and submit the proposal in .doc or docx format by December 1st, 2014.

Our special issue captures the interplay of media, politics, religion, and culture in shaping Arabs' search for more stable governing models at a crossroads of global, regional, and national challenges through systematic and integrated analyses of evolving and contested Arab visual and performing arts in revolutionary and unstable public spheres. The issue presents a unique attempt to investigate these forms of cultural production as new modes of knowledge that shed light on the nature of social movements with the aim of expanding the critical reach of the disciplinary methods of political discourse and social theory. Contributors articulate the ways in which the Arab scene can contribute to the understanding of the rise of new social movements worldwide by exploring the methodological gaps in dominant Western discourses and theories.

Our Special Issue captures the interplay of media, politics, religion, and culture in shaping Arabs' search for more stable governing models at crossroads of global, regional, and national challenges through systematic and integrated analyses of evolving and contested Arab visual and performing arts, including media (traditional and alternative), in revolutionary and unstable public spheres. This special issue examines the role of new media in the construction of online communities in the Arab world. It contributes to the understanding of how user-generated content empowers these new publics and the novel communities established by user comments on social media and news websites. Specifically, it explores these online communities and their perceptions of the role of user-generated content to contribute to politics, and potentially engage other citizens in the public debate.

This article suggests a rereading of Arabic poetry through a critical lens that builds on T. S. Eliot's notion of continuity underpinning the nexus between traditional and the individual talent. Through analyzing the use of continuity in the pre/early-Islamic qaṣīda, as manifested in the conventional motif of nasīb (the amatory prelude), the article attempts to wed Western critical theory and premodern Arab poetic praxis. Drawing on the notion of continuity identified by Eliot, this article approaches the works of Mukhaḍram poets, whose lives spanned the pre-Islamic and early Islamic-eras, in order to elucidate their attempt to create a balanced nexus between the old Jāhilī tradition and the new Islamic culture. Following Eliot's concept of tradition, the article examines the contours of continuity in the early Arabic qaṣīda, focusing especially on the amatory prelude or nasīb1 as a condensed metaphorical garb that represents the spirit of a new age without sacrificing established norms. The article thus focuses on the tension between the conventional and the creative that marks this transitional period, as represented by Mukhaḍram poets in their attempt to set a balance between their creative talents and the new moral code enacted by the newly introduced faith. Here, the Mukhaḍram poets, represented in the article by Ḥassān ibn Thābit, the Prophet Muḥammad's panegyrist, offer an excellent example of this hybridist reworking of an established poetic canon. It is thus claimed that such reworking resulted in new metaphors, which encapsulated both traditional motifs and creative symbols. In this sense, Mukhaḍram poetry imbued pristine individual talent with a conscious sense of tradition that ensured the “wholesome continuity” of universal cultural values.

The process of integration of Syrian newcomers into Canada is multifaceted. The Canadian government, in its efforts to welcome refugees, has provided services that smooth this process over on many fronts. While financial and support services are essential to feelings of comfort, safety and security, feelings of identity and belonging constitute a never-ending process. In a globalized world, country of residence can easily change, but attachment to issues in the country of origin enlists a much more complex relationship. This article seeks to explore Syrian newcomers' pre-migration and post-migration experiences and the influence of such experiences on their sense of belonging and identification. This article also seeks to understand their media-consumption habits. In doing so, the level of involvement of Syrian refugees in issues of host society versus issues in Syria or the Arab world becomes apparent. Through highlighting their level of involvement, this research hopes to uncover the feelings of responsibility to democratic change and the revolutionary process in Syria.