Arab academics debated yesterday how they can teach their students about the worldâs superpower without themselves being identified with policies that are extremely unpopular in the Middle East. âHow can we avoid the political connotation whenever we talk about America to our students?â asked Mohammed Doujani, a Palestinian lecturer at Al-Quds University in Jerusalem, at a conference in a Cairo hotel.
| Just off the top of my had, I'd say leave out the part about your own Armed Struggle™ and fighting against Imperialism™, and concentrate more on culture and accomplishments. |
The US ambassador to Cairo, David Welch, urged the roughly 70 participants to encourage students to go beyond the negative image. âYou have to find ways to tell each other how to look at the American character,â Welch said.
| "F'instance, why don't Americans swarm into the streets every time something goes wrong? Why don't they wave AKs and roll their eyes?" |
Courses specializing in American studies are rare in Arab universities. In the most populous Arab country, Egypt, for example, there is only one Center for American Studies â at Cairo University. It was established as recently as 2002 and is funded by the US government. The conferenceâs keynote speaker, Philippa Strum, who runs the US studies program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, spelled out the need for students to comprehend the way America works. âAt one point in history, where there is one superpower... it is extremely important to understand its government and the rules that guide its government,â Strum said.
| "Whether you like it or not." |
The director of Cairo Universityâs American center, Mohammed Kamal, said that enrollment is growing. âLast year we had 30 students, and this year we have 50 students. The number of postgraduate students applying for masters and Ph.D degrees in American studies is also growing,â Kamal said. |