For English speakers beginning to learn Arabic, the most popular and most effective book is Alif Baa by Brustad, Al-Batal, and Al-Tonsi. Based on the order of its vocabulary, here are some materials that I like to use for providing cultural input in Arabic class:
To be continued…
I’d like to provide here several draft syllabi for those of you interested in teaching and research of the following topics. I support an open-source approach to knowledge, and am happy to follow up on these resources in conversation if you have any comments or questions. Time Periods & Parameters of Arabic Literature In the…
Bonjour! As you may know, I’m helping lead a discussion on GoodReads about The Time of White Horses by Ibrahim Nasrallah. Then my husband recently introduced me to the music of Nolwenn Leroy, a French singer inspired by Breton and Celtic culture. I enjoyed this song so much, that I ended up translating it (video…
With this bright new year of 2020, I’m sharing a few literary/artistic picks (two books and one music album) that were recently inspired by Conference of the Birds (منطق الطير), the allegorical poem by Farid al-Din Attar (lived in Nishapur c. 1145-c. 1221, in northeastern Iran). “Considered by Rumi to be ‘the master’ of Sufi…
Today I learned of Emily Nasrallah’s passing. As a student at NYU, I used to shop at the Dahesh Heritage bookshop (since closed, sadly). The kind and helpful shopkeeper, Mike Masri, is the one who first mentioned her to me, placing her book Fi l-bal / In Mind, in my outstretched hands. This book of…
This is a list of recommendations for people (especially Americans) who want to educate themselves about the history and politics of Israel-Palestine. 1. Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter’s book, Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid, which raised controversy for his description of the situation as apartheid. 2. Classic Fateful Triangle by Noam Chomsky. It can be dense due…
Happy Labor Day (in the U.S.) ! My favorite labor day quote, by philosopher Olfa Youssef of Tunisia from here (my translation) : “It’s not so important for workers to have a holiday. The important thing is for work to be more like a holiday. That won’t happen until humans stop exploiting other humans. You…
