Outreach News

The Center has been commended by the Department of Education for its Outreach Program, which works with schools and colleges, community and religious groups, government and military institutions, and the general public to raise awareness and understanding of issues in the Middle East and their importance to our communities. View some highlights from the past few years on our Archives page.

CSI Egypt: Teachers' Workshop

The Middle East Center and the Penn Museum are organizing a workshop for teachers on November 3.  All teachers and life-long learners are invited to attend the Penn Museum's first Teacher's Workshop of the season. 

Participants will attend interactive lectures on Forensic Anthropology and Arabic language, and have a tour Mesopotamia, Islamic, and Egyptian galleries, including the newly-installed Iraq's Ancient Past.  Also, participants will receive NJ or PA professional development credits.

Please RSVP by October 28 to Jenn (215-898-4016 or jreif@sas.upenn.edu).

For a flier, click here.

Middle East Studies at Moorestown Friends School

Middle East Center staff and graduate students are assisting the Middle East Studies course at Moorestown Friends School this semester.  Mr. Joel Hager's 12th grade class will be treated to four guest lectures sponsored by the Center on topics such as "The Ottoman Empire, Turkey and Nationalism in the Middle East", "Modern History of Israel", "Modern Arabic Literature" and "20th Century US Foreign Policy in the Middle East".

As always, the Center is glad to assist any area school in developing Middle East Studies curricula.  If you are a teacher interested in having lecturers visit your school free of charge, please contact Program Assistant James Ryan at jamryan@sas.upenn.edu.

Check back soon for pictures!

Global Education Lab: Workshop for teachers

The Middle East Center, in collaboration with three other National Resource Centers at Penn and Global Education Lab, will host a workshop for teachers on October 24, 2009.  This workshop will provide teachers and administrators with the information and experience they need to establish a new global education program, deepen and enrich existing programs, and to provide an inspiring and invigorating intellectual experience.

For more information, please visit http://globaledworks.com/upenn09.shtml or click here.

 

International Student Welcome Reception

The International Student Welcome Reception is a special event hosted by International Classroom and sponsored by more than 50 colleges, universities, and programs to welcome new international students and scholars to the Delaware Valley. The 2009 event was held on October 9, 2009. This free event draws around 1,000 students and scholars from around 90 different countries each year.

Different college and community performing arts groups loved to share their talent and skills with the international guests. Hype, Penn University’s multi-cultural fusion dance group; Penn Chinese Dance Group; Thillana, Penn’s premier student classical dance group; Mutya, a Filipino dance group; LaSalle University’s Neo-African Drums’n Dancez; Rowan University musicians; and Anne Hagert from the University of the Arts have all volunteered their time and expertise to entertain our international guests.

 

International Day for the Eradication of Poverty Program

Global Education Motivators, UNA-Greater Philadelphia and the Council of Organizations, the Middle East Center and other organizations are co-sponsoring a Stand Against Poverty event and an awareness of the work to fight poverty.  The first session will be a 45-minute program structured with support resources from the StandAgainstPoverty campaign. It will be followed by a 45-minute interactive videoconference on the work being done in Murutunguru Village to eliminate poverty in their community.

For more information, please go to here.

 

A Two-session Seminar at Camden County College

The Middle East Center and the Center for Civic Leadership & Responsibility at Camden County College present a two-session seminar "Breaking Barriers to Better Understanding: Teaching The Middle East in the K-12 Classroom" on October 5 and 12.  The Middle East will be assessed from a multidisciplinary perspective.  Students will discuss Foreign Policy, History, Religion and Culture with area experts highlighting how to best integrate the Middle East into the classroom.  Experts will illuminate how regions differ, explaining the peculiarities of Egypt, Iraq, Iran and Turkey, as well as how they fit into the multicultural and geopolitical framework. 

For registration, please download this.

 

World Culture Day: Turkish Delight!

On September 26, Penn Museum and several organizations hosted an afternoon event as the Museum celebrated the opening of His Golden Touch: The Gordion Drawings of Piet de Jong with a wider look at the culture of Turkey.  The afternoon featured Turkish dancing and music, plus an authentic cuisine demonstration, talks on ancient and modern Turkey, crafts, and more. Throughout the day families enjoyed creating traditional Turkish arts and crafts by participating in an Ebru workshop to learn the ancient Turkish art of marbling or "cloud painting" on paper.

 

ATA School for Turkish Language and Cultural Education

The Middle East Center supports the ATA school for its educational program teaching Turkish language and culture to children and adults in the greater Philadelphia area.  ATA school is established by TAFSUS which is founded in 1966 to promote better understanding and friendship between the Turkish and American communities.

For more information about the classes, please visit http://www.tafsus.net/ataschool.html

 

Cultural Day at the Penn Museum for Military Families (Canceled)

The Middle East Center and Penn Museum's Education Department is hosting military families and children from the state of Pennsylvania at the Museum on September 12th.

The Cultural Day serves to increase knowledge and understanding of the diversity of the Middle East and Arabic cultures. This one-day event includes various activities such as arts and crafts workshops, museum tours, talks by Prof. Brian Rose and Carolyn Baugh, and an interactive music show with the Spice Route Ensemble.

This event is co-sponsored by Operation: Military Kids in Pennsylvania, Penn State, the Penn Museum, and the Middle East Center. 

 

Persian Teacher's Workshop

The University of Pennsylvania hosted the 2009 Summer Persian Teachers’ Workshop for Professional Curriculum and Materials Development June 4-7, 2009.  The workshop was funded by a Startalk Summer Grant, and co-sponsored by the National Middle Eastern Languages Resource Center at Brigham Young University, the American Association of Teachers of Persian and the following Penn Penn Centers: the Penn Language Center, the Multimedia Resource Center, the Language Resource Center and the Middle East Center.  This workshop brought together 20 Persian teachers from across the United States to discuss a variety of issues current in Persian instruction, including teaching methodology, use of technology, curriculum, heritage vs. non-heritage students, multi-media teaching materials, and education and performance assessment.  Following the workshop, participants continued working on their collaborative projects online.

 

Middle East Day at the Penn Museum

The Middle East Center and Penn Museum's Education Department hosted the first Middle East Day at the Museum on June 5th , 2009. We welcomed a group of 85 students from the School District of Philadelphia (Motivation High School, Ben Franklin HS, Leeds Military Academy) and Camden School District (Pine Point Middle School). One of the highlights of this one-day event was the keynote address by Carolyn Baugh, a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at Penn. Ms. Baugh's speech discussed Arabic poetry including that of pre-Islam; Judeo-Arabic poetry; Persian poetry; and Andalusian poetry from Spain. She also talked about the Arabic influence on today's pop culture.

The students then got a chance to explore Penn Museum's magnificent collection. The guided tours covered the sections on Israel, Egypt, and Mesopotamia. Students were grouped into two workshops; one examined “Art and Architecture of the Middle East,” the other, “Life of a Teenager in Turkey.” For lunch, students were served Middle Eastern food. In the afternoon, Marie Brown, a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of History at Penn, delivered a talk on life in Sudan.

As the capstone to the day's events, there was a musical performance and interactive presentation featuring musicians from Spice Route Ensemble, a local band that specializes in Middle Eastern and Eastern Mediterranean music.

This event was co-sponsored by the Penn Museum, the Philadelphia School District, the African Studies Center, the Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations Department and the Middle East Center.

Here is what some of our participants had to say about Middle East Day:

"Middle East Day was a wonderful opportunity for area teachers and students to actively engage with Middle Eastern and North African culture" - Presenter Marie Grace Brown

"Middle East Day helped students gain a diverse understanding of the Middle East from the disciplines of History, Society, Art and Music" - James Ryan, MEC Administrative Assistant and event organizer.

 

 

Global Education Workshop

On May 9, 2009, The Middle East Center, African Studies Center, the Center for East Asian Studies, and the South Asia Center hosted an intensive full-day workshop for teachers and administrators at the University of Pennsylvania. The workshop focused on the significance of global education and global perspectives and provided lesson plans and supplementary materials. Programs were delivered by educators Medard Gabel and Wayne Jacoby. Outreach coordinators from the four centers also made presentations about teaching materials and resources available to teachers.

 

Cherry Hill East Model United Nations Conference

The Center's Jim Ryan will be lecturing on Saturday, April 4th, 2009 to students at the fifth annual Cherry Hill East Model United Nations Conference. He will be discussing the growth of area studies in the United States.

 

Teaching the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

The Center is currently sending qualified Ph.D students to Philadelphia area high schools to help educate students about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

February 24, 2009
West Catholic High School
1:00-2:00PM
"Overview of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict"

March 17, 2009
Bodine High School for International Affairs
3:00-4:30 PM
"Origins of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict"

May 12, 2009

Philadelphia High School for Girls

"Origins of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict"

 

Dance Workshop for 7th Graders

One of the Center's fellows and dance instructor Habiba held two workshops at the Independence Charter School on December 17th and 18th, 2008. The two workshops were part of the seventh grade level Arabic language and culture training and they focused on the traditional dance of Egypt. The goal of the workshop was to teach students how to dance in the context of an Egyptian village festival. Some of the topics discussed in the festival setting included language, clothing, agriculture, climate, customs, henna, music, and dance.

 

Guest Lectures in the Central Bucks School System

MEC Administrative Assistant James Ryan makes semi-regular visits to area schools to guest lecture on topics related to the Middle East. On December 18, visited Central Bucks High School West to discuss the Islamic Republic of Iran to a 12th grade AP Comparative Government Class. On Friday November 7, he visited Central Buck High School South to guest lecture in the 12th Grade International Relations classes. Mr. Ryan addressed the political and social problems of Iran and Iraq, both from the American and Middle Eastern Perspective. He also addressed the Sunni-Shi'i divide, helping the students better to undersand exactly what role religion plays in the ethnic and social cleavages in the region. International Relations is part of the standard Social Studies Curriculum for 12th graders in Central Bucks Schools and has significantly increased focus on the Middle East in recent years. The Middle East Center looks forward to greater participation in the curriculum, with the students and with the faculty in this and other area school districts.

 

Drumming Workshops for Beginning and Intermediate Students, 3rd-12th grades (Other workshops for adults possible)

Ten Saturday workshops from September through December were held at the Rotunda (4012 Walnut St., Philadelphia) by Lebanese-American Master Percussionist Joseph Tayoun. The workshops ran from 12:45-1:45 PM for beginners, and from 1:50-2:50 PM for intermediate, and focused on Middle Eastern rhythms and techniques. Future programs of this sort are likely. For more information, click here or call Al-Bustan at (267) 809-3668. You can also send them email. Some scholarships are available. If you are interested in adult percussion workshops, let them know, as they are considering opening an adult section on Saturdays from 3-4 PM.

 

Arabic and Drama Workshops for 3rd-5th Graders

Ten Saturday workshops from September through December were held at the Rotunda (4012 Walnut St., Philadelphia) by Nehad Khader and Nahid Elgadi. The workshops ran from 10:30 AM - 12:30 PM, and focused on study of conversational and written Arabic, integrated with acting and writing an Arab fairy tale, ending with a performance-in-progress. For more information, click here or call Al-Bustan at (267) 809-3668. You can also send them email. Some scholarships are available.

 

Al-Bustan's percussion instruction and music appreciation program, featuring Simon Shaheen

On November 19, 2008, the Middle East Center, in partnership with Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture, co-sponsored a teacher's workshop with internationally renowned 'ud and violin virtuoso Simon Shaheen. The workshop was held from 1-3 PM at the Kimmel Center at 260 S. Broad St. This event was followed by a series of master workshops with several youth ensembles in January 2009. For more information on Al-Bustan's music program, click here to visit their website.

 

“City Year Training Day " at The Mastery Charter School-Shoemaker Campus

On September 23, 2008, the Middle East Center, in partnership with three other National Resource Centers at Penn (African Studies Center, Center for East Asian Studies, and South Asian Studies Center) offered a teacher's training day for 230 City Year staff members. The training focused on the significance of global education and its impact on solidarity. The training also provided members with resources to use in their own classrooms and after-school programs. This half-day program was partially funded by the Schol of Arts and Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania.

 

“The New Mediterranean" at Dickinson College

The Middle East Center continues to expand its circle of outreach partners in the state of Pennsylvania.  In April 2008, the Center co-sponsored Dickinson College’s Clarke Forum for Contemporary Issues a day-long symposium on “The New Mediterranean.”  This special event addressed new ways of understanding diaspora identity, cultural, political boundaries and exchanges between Europe and North Africa through critical discussions and performances by writers, cultural critics, and musicians. The discussions concluded with an improvisational and participatory Culture Jam and concert by the world music and Afro-Nord group, Cafe Mira. Click here for more information.

 

Introduction to Islam with the Rabbinical Reconstructionist College in Wyncote, PA

The Middle East Center has partnered with the Rabbinical Reconstructionist College to offer the College's students an introductory on Islam in spring 2008.  The course includes both an academic and a service learning component. The emphasis in both is on preparing rabbis to function as Jewish leaders in dialogue, community activism, and education in partnership with Muslims. 

For the service learning component, the Center recruited Muslim graduate students to partner with the rabbinical students, who will participate in a number of joint activities together, including: a get-to-know-each other dinner to beheld at the University of Pennsylvania on March 5th; engaging each other in religious text study and discussion; visiting  a religious service or other Muslim event of the Muslim student’s choice; and preparing a presentation to a Jewish audience on some aspect of Islam or Muslim-Jewish Relations.

 

World-renowned Arab Ethnomusicologist Dr. Ali Jihad Racy and Mideast Ensemble Perform

In March 2008 the Middle East Center's Outreach Program co-sponsored with its partner, Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture, and Swarthmore College a free public concert featuring a collaboration between the world-renowned Arab ethnomusicologist Dr. Ali Jihad Racy and Philadelphia's own Middle East Ensemble , featuring Joseph Tayoun, Roger Mgrdichian, Adeeb Refela, Hafez El Ali ,and William Tayoun at the Lang Performing Arts Center at Swarthmore College, in Media, Pennsylvania.

The concert, "Music and Memory: Legacy in a New World" will feature a repertoire of traditional, folk, and popular Arab music as well as original compositions. It also will incorporate improvisations on a variety of instruments, including the nay (reed flute), buzuq (long-necked lute), and 'ud (short-necked lute). This concert will showcase the exquisite musicianship of Dr. Racy (on nay, buzuq, and ‘ud) and members of MidEast Ensemble: Joseph Tayoun (percussion), Roger Mgrdichian (‘ud), Adeeb Refela (violin), Hafez El Ali (percussion/vocals), and William Tayoun (percussion).

The Middle East Center and Al-Bustan will also co-sponsor a free Arab music demonstration workshop by Dr. Racy in West Philadelphia while in our great city. Click here for more information about these events.

 

Professional Development Training for Executives from Telecom Egypt

The Center’s outreach program was instrumental in arranging a unique professional development training for 30 executives from Telecom Egypt, to take place at the new international headquarters of COMCAST in downtown Philadelphia in February 2008.  The group is being sponsored by MEC's partner in the business community, the Global Interdependence Center, and will receive extensive training in best practices in business and personnel management from top managers and executives at COMCAST.  A reception will be held at the Pyramid Club following the training, and will feature Dr. Ashraf El Rabiey, Minister Plenipotentiary and Head of the Economic and Commercial Bureau of the Embassy of Egypt and other diplomatic and commercial representatives from the Middle East.  The reception is co-sponsored by the Center, the African Studies Center and the Lauder Institute of Management and International Studies at Penn.

 

Research in Community Arts Course with Temple University

This spring the Middle East Center partnered with Dr. Billy Yalowitz, co-director of the cross-disciplinary Arts in Community Program at Temple University, to sponsor an innovative new course, "Research in Community Arts."  In this community-based arts course, students will work in partnership with two community organizations, the Jewish Dialogue Group and Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture, to help create Un/Settled, two separate but linked community-based art works that examine conflicts within the Arab American and American Jewish and communities in Philadelphia.  Students will conduct community-based research, gathering stories on each community’s history of immigration, and their development in the contemporary U.S context.   The history of Arab and Jewish of co-existence in medieval Spain will serve as another point of reference in the creation of the project.  This course will serve as a common forum between the two communities, engaging artists and community leaders through field trips, guest speakers, and community cultural events.

 

Interactive Middle East Dance and Music Assemblies

The Middle East Center, in partnership with the Spice Route Ensemble and Musicopia, will be sponsoring three interactive Middle East dance and music assemblies in spring 2008 targeting underserved communities in the Delaware Valley.  Programs will be held at the licensed child care center of Doylestown Children's Hospital for pre-school and kindergarten children with special needs and their guardians as part of Family Appreciation Week; the Latino Leadership Alliance, an after-school program in the low-income Bristol Borough of Bucks County; and Woods Services in Langhorne, a school that serves students with mental and physical developmental disabilities.

 

Peace Around the World at Penn Museum

In the spirit of the holiday season, the Middle East Center, the Center for East Asian Studies, the African Studies Center, and the Penn Museum Volunteer Women’s Committee co-sponsored an all-day program, “Peace Around the World” at our world-renowned Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology on Sunday, December 2nd , from 1:30 to 4PM. The program was free and open to the public, and this year’s theme was “Holiday Passport to Cultures,” where all visitors received Museum “passports”
with itineraries to visit Penn Museum International Classroom speakers and learn about holiday traditions in countries around the world, including Eid Al-Fitr and Eid Al-Adha. The day also featured international music and dancing, including an Arabic drum workshop, choir music by children, exotic face painting, Arabic calligraphy demonstrations, balloon art, and international family crafts. For more information, click here.

 

The Whirling Dervishes of Istanbul

The Philadelphia Society for Art, Literature and Music (PSALM) presented the first phase of their "Full Circle Project," a multi-year cultural dialogue, with an event entitled "One House –Many Doors." The Whirling Dervishes of Istanbul with special guest Coleman Barks performed at the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, preceded by two afternoon colloquia on the life and philosophy of Rumi.

The gala performance was a celebration of the UNESCO 2007 International Year of Rumi, which marked the 800th anniversary of the ancient ceremony of the Sema, a visually stunning meditation in motion by the Whirling Dervishes, accompanied by an ensemble of Turkish master musicians playing traditional instruments. The turning ceremony originated with the 13th century poet, scholar and Sufi mystic Jelaladdin Rumi, as a means to demonstrate and affirm the intimate relationship between the human being and the divine source of life.The afternoon colloquia were free and open to the public, and featured a number of noted Sufi scholars and the actress, TAMIR.

The event was supported by the Philadelphia Dialogue Forum, Penn Presents, the Middle East Center, the Global Dialogue Institute of Haverford College, and the Turkish American Friends Society of the US.

 

Y PHILLY / Y TURKEY - Youth Identity Murals

Each year, MYX invites all Philadelphians between the ages of 9 – 24 (Philadelphia's Youth Generation) to capture the spirit of their city and youth culture in two youth identity murals. Once completed, the murals were presented to a pre-selected community abroad as a gift from our city.

This year, for the first time, MYX, in partnership with the Middle East Center and Arts for Anyone facilitated a full exchange of murals, creating the Y PHILLY murals for schools in Istanbul and Adana, Turkey, where Turkish students simultaneously created their own youth identity murals for Philadelphia.

A reception was held on Wednesday, September 26 to see the murals for the last time before they headed for their permanent homes in Turkey. For more information, click here.

Mural by Turkish students for Philadelphia.

 

“Teaching About Islam and Politics in the Middle East: A Comparative Overview of Turkey, Iran and Saudi Arabia "
A Workshop for the 2007 PACIE Annual Conference in Harrisburg

The Middle East Center was once again asked by the Pennsylvania Council for International Education to organize a workshop on the Middle East for K-12 and college educators and administrators as part of PACIE’s annual state-wide conference, which was held on September 29 at the Pennsylvania Department of Education in Harrisburg.  In 2005, we organized, along with the South Asia Center and International Classroom, a workshop on “Islam: Reality and (Mis)Perceptions ” for PACIE’s annual conference held in Philadelphia. Click here for more information.

 

"Cruise the Nile through History:
Explore Ancient and Modern Egypt"
A Workshop for K-12 Teachers at the Penn Museum

On November 10th, the Education Department at the University Museum, the Middle East Center, and Camden County College sponsored a workshop,"Cruise the Nile through History: Explore Ancient and Modern Egypt," for 49 teachers from Philadelphia and New Jersey. Dr. Kate Liszka, one of the University Museum's Egyptologists, covered many of the cultural aspects of the Old, Middle, and New Kingdom in Egypt. Her presentation included discussions of the sites of the Giza Plateau, Memphis, Luxor, Alexandria, and Abu Simbel, and explored aspects of the ancient society such as love, poetry, worship, humor, business, education, and hobbies. After the talk, the teachers enjoyed a guided tour of Penn Museum’s magnificent Egyptian collection. After a sumptuous Middle Eastern buffet lunch, Manar Darwish, a native of Cairo and professor of Islamic Art, gave a lively presentation on Modern day Egyptian art, religion, education, and tourism. The teachers learned how the legacy of ancient Egypt is integrated into the current culture. Following the lecture, Manar lead the group through Penn Museum’s Islam gallery.

 

Lesson Plans from Our K-12 Summer Institutes

The Middle East Center and the other National Resource Centers at Penn - the Center for East Asian Studies, South Asia Center and the African Studies Center - joined resources and expertise to organize an annual summer institute for K-12 teachers and administrators on a theme common to all our regions, as a way to show the interconnectedness as well as the diversity of the people and cultures of our respective regions. Our institute, which balances in-depth content with pedagogy on best teacher practices, has attracted participants from all parts of the Delaware Valley and even beyond. Click here to view some of the many lesson plans developed by them.