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2013 PhD, Middle Eastern Languages & Cultures, The University of Texas at Austin
2007 M.A. Near East Studies, New York University
2004 B.A. with Highest Honors, Middle East Studies with Minor in Arabic, Emory University
2006 Certificate, National Middle East Language Resource Center (NMELRC) Arabic Instructors Training Seminar, UT Austin August 7-12, 2006
2005 Diploma, Center for Arabic Studies Abroad (CASA), American University in Cairo. Intensive Advanced Modern Standard and Egyptian Arabic, June 2004 – May 2005. Funded by U.S. Department of Education.
2000 Certificate, Arabic Summer Study at School for Oriental and African Studies, University of London
Current Business
- 2017-present Marhaba Language Expertise, Founder
- Translation (Arabic to English), since 2009
- Editing (English), since 2014
- Teaching & Consulting in Arabic Language & Literature, since 2006
Editorial & Project Management Experience
- 2013-present Moderator of MENA Lit group, Goodreads.com
- 2006-2007 Arabic Bibliographer, Modern Language Assoc. (New York, NY)
- 2004-2005 Project Coordinator, Culture Program, UNESCO (Cairo)
- 2003-2004 Administrative Assistant, Emory University Language Center
- 2002-2003 Arabic Newspaper Collator, Library of Congress (D.C.)
Teaching Arabic
- Spring 2015 Advanced Arabic and Culture Instructor, U. of Maryland
- Fall 2013 Arabic Language Instructor, The University of Rhode Island
- Summer 2012 Arabic Language Instructor, Middlebury College
- Summer 2008 Arabic Teacher, The University of Texas at Austin
- Spring 2007 Arabic Language Instructor, Hunter College
- Summer 2006 Arabic Language Instructor, CUNY Graduate Center
Melanie has taught Arabic in university classrooms and in private tutoring sessions, relying on the Al-Kitaab curriculum designed by her teachers and mentors, Kristen Brustad and Mahmoud Al-Batal. She approaches her role as a coach for committed language learners at any level, from beginners to advanced learners. Her students work in a variety of fields, including academia, governmental, journalistic, and non-profit work.
Links to my Teaching Portfolio:
- Teaching Philosophy
- Teaching Competencies | a list of courses that I could teach, some of which I have taught
- Sample Class Documents | sample syllabus, activities, assignments
- Student Evaluations
Prepare RI Ambassador, RI Department of Education, Arabic Community Liaison (2019-2020 School Year)
Refugee Helpline Data Assistant, International Refugee Assistance Project (Remote, Winter 2017)
Concert Tour Organizer and Consecutive Interpreter (Austin and Seattle, Fall 2011)
Arabic Literature & History Graduate Student Instructor (The University of Texas at Austin, 2008-2011) All-Arabic instruction in Modern Arab Intellectual History, Arabian Nights / One Thousand and One Nights, and Modern Arabic Literature)
2022 Longlist for National Translation Award for Princess Fatima
2022 National Endowment for the Arts Translation Grant (2 year project)
2016 Nominated for Saif Ghobash Banipal Prize for Arabic Literary Translation – announcement
2016 National Endowment for the Arts Translation Grant (2 year project)
2014 National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Institute – North Africa: Literature, the arts, and cinema since independence
2010-11 Fulbright Grant for dissertation research in Morocco
2009-10 Continuing Fellowship, University of Texas at Austin Graduate School of Liberal Arts
2009 AIMS Research Grant
2009 Firebird Foundation for Anthropological Research Grant
2008-09 Continuing Fellowship, UT Graduate School of Liberal Arts
2008-09 FLAS, Hebrew (declined for Continuing Fellowship)
2005-07 Henry M. MacCracken full tuition at New York University
2005-07 Beinecke Scholarship for graduate studies
2005 Winning short story in Arabic writing contest in Cairo
2004 Center for Arabic Study Abroad Fellowship (full year)
2004 National Phi Beta Kappa Honors Society (Gamma of Georgia chapter)
2003 Research Travel Grant, Institute for Comparative and International Studies
2000-11 Semi-annual visits to Morocco, for language study and research in periods ranging from ten days to eight months
2004-05 One year living in Cairo, participating in the Center for Arabic Studies Abroad, and interning in the Cairo UNESCO Office
2004-05 Independent travel throughout Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan
The Arabic Community and Rhode Island Schools. 2019-2020 study funded by PrepareRI through the Rhode Island Department of Education. Final report available online here.
“Malhun” entry in The Encyclopaedia of Islam THREE, Brill, 2020. Available online here.
Across Borders. Co-created with Laila Familiar. Arabic teaching module. 2018. Khallina.org.
“Epic of the Commander Dhat al-Himma.” Medieval Feminist Forum: A Journal of Gender and Sexuality 54, no. 3 (2018). Introduced, Edited, and Translated by Melanie Magidow. Available open access at: https://ir.uiowa.edu/mff/vol54/iss3/1
“Trending Classic: The Cultural Register of Moroccan Malhun Poetry” in The Journal of North African Studies (March 2016). Available online.
Book review of The Warrior Women of Islam: Female Empowerment in Arabic Popular Literature (2014) in the “Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies,” 77.3 October 2014.
Multicultural Solidarity: Performances of Malhun Poetry in Morocco, Ph.D. Diss. The University of Texas at Austin, 2013. A Bakhtinian dialogic analysis of sung poetry and its uses in inventing culture and society. Available online.
“Fatima Haddad” entry in The Dictionary of African Biography, Oxford University Press, 2011. By Melanie Clouser (maiden name).
Book review of Who Sings the Nation State? Language, Politics, Belonging by Judith Butler and Gayatri Chakravarty Spivak (2007) in “E3W Review of Books,” University of Texas at Austin, Spring 2009. By Melanie Clouser (maiden name).
Book review of The Performance of Human Rights in Morocco by Susan Slyomovics (2005) in “E3W Review of Books,” University of Texas at Austin, Spring 2008. http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/orgs/e3w/Slyomovics. By Melanie Clouser (maiden name).
“Society and Identity in Oral and Written Moroccan Juha Tales” in Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on Popular Culture in the Middle East and North Africa, April 2006. By Melanie Clouser (maiden name).
“Volga Ethnic Relations from Ibn Fadlan’s Perspective.” Agora 4.1 (2003). By Melanie Clouser (maiden name).
Translation of “Al-Yusufiyya” Moroccan Malhun poem in ArabLit Quarterly 4, no. 4 (Winter 2021): 110-121. Access details here. Public reading and discussion during a launch event here.
The Tale of Princess Fatima, Warrior Woman. A newly translated abridgment of the Arabic epic Sirat al-Amira Dhat al-Himma by Melanie Magidow. Penguin Classics, 2021.
Translation of 10th-century detective story by Tanukhi. Titled “The Missing Hand” in ArabLit Quarterly 3, no. 2 (Summer 2020): 42-51. Access details here.
Translation and introduction of Mazin Wasulak / How Delightful Your Arrival Would Be, Moroccan malhun poem, in ArabLit Quarterly Summer 2019. Access details here.
Short Story “The Story of King Shahrayar and His Brother” by Somaya Ramadan in online literary journal K1N (8.4: 2016). Available online here. [Update 2021: K1N site down. PDF available on Academia.edu here.]
Novel Mortal Designs, by Reem Bassiouney (Arabic أشياء رائعة Ashiya’ ra’i‘a, Beirut, 2010). American University in Cairo Press, December 2015.
Verse 1 of the Moroccan poem Al-Sham‘a for “The Musical Heritage of Moorish Spain” Concert at U.C. Santa Barbara, 21 February 2015.
Lullabies from Algeria, Egypt, and Morocco on Lisa Yannucci’s site.
Article “Haifa Prior to al-nakba: The City and Society” by Mahmoud Yazbak, solicited translation from Arabic to English for French journal Méditerranées, June 2009. By Melanie Clouser (maiden name).
Presentation on The State of the Field of Arabic Literary Studies at Jil Jadid 2012 Graduate Student Conference, 24 February 2012.
Presentation: “A Twelfth-Century Lyric in Diaspora in Cosmopolitan Alexandria,” American Comparative Literature Association (ACLA) annual meeting, 1-4 April 2010.
Presentation of dissertation research at the 9th annual, fully-funded American Institute for Maghrib Studies (AIMS) Dissertation Workshop, 26-28 March 2010.
Presentation: “The Prison Poetry of al-Mutanabbi,” Middle East Studies Association (MESA) annual conference, 21-24 November 2009.
Presentation: “The Farewell Journey of a Twelfth-Century Sicilian Elegy,” Middle East Studies Association (MESA) annual conference, 22-25 November 2008.
Presentation: “Something up Her Sleeve: Recognizing Anagnorisis in Arabic Narratives” in Metamorphoses: An International Colloquium on Narrative & Folklore at The University of Utah, 2-4 October 2008.
Presentation: “An Introduction to Moroccan Literature” Fulbright-Hayes Summer Seminar Abroad in Morocco Orientation at UT Austin, 27 June 2008.
Presentation in Arabic: The Classical Arabic Heroine: The Epic of Princess Endeavor Dept. of MES at UT Austin, 19 March 2008.
I have held memberships in several professional associations, including:
- American Translators Association (ATA)
- American Copy Editors Association (ACES)
- American Literary Translators Association (ALTA)
- Editorial Freelancers Association (EFA)
- Middle East Studies Association (MESA)
English: Native language
Arabic
- Modern Standard Arabic: Excellent reading, comprehension, communication (rated at “Superior” level on ACTFL proficiency scale)
- Moroccan Colloquial Arabic: Excellent comprehension, communication
- Egyptian Colloquial Arabic: Advanced comprehension, communication
- Levantine Colloquial Arabic: Intermediate comprehension, communication
French: Advanced reading, intermediate communication
Hebrew: Intermediate reading, communication
Spanish: Advanced reading, intermediate low communication
Jan. 2013-Present Moderator of Middle East / North African Lit group, Goodreads.com
2023 to Present | Library Board, Columbia Heights Library
2023 Literary Division Leadership Council, ATA (American Translators Association)
2022 Judge for the Galantiere Award for Translation, from the ATA
2019 Judge for the National Endowment for the Arts Translation Grants
2018 Arabic Translation Contest Judge for AATA (American Association of Teachers of Arabic)
2018 Emory Alumni Interview Program
2014-2015 AFS Exchange Student Liaison
2002-2003 Volunteer Emory Service Trip Coordinator to Refugee Family Services (Atlanta, GA)
1999 4-H Senior Ambassador
Arabic literature and society, both historical and contemporary
Cultural studies of Arabic literature and society
Feminism and gender advocacy projects in the Arab World
Genre developments and their relations to social movements
Folk genres and their dialogic relations to public discourses and performances