Posts

*Using gender to define the core of what makes us human creates huge contradictions: it requires us to define men and women as fundamentally different from each other and yet also as full human beings. – *Johnson, The Gender Knot, 58 Juha and Donkey Just as women appear in limited and occasional historical events universally, so the popular Arab folktales of Juha the trickster portray his wife in a supporting and marginal role.

I am delighted to announce my latest Special Project, developing the first English anthology of Moroccan Malhun poetry, building on my PhD dissertation and fieldwork and time spent in Morocco on and off, over more than a decade. Mbarek Sryfi, poet and professor at The University of Pennsylvania, is co-translator. Growing up in Morocco, he is a long-term fan of Malhun. The NEA is helping to fund our work (details here).

In this chilly winter season, here’s a list of Arabic shows and movies with something for everyone to enjoy… Justice Secret of the Nile Wadjda Justice | Netflix | UAE | Crime / Courtroom TV Show | about a young woman lawyer (I liked it!) Secret of the Nile | Egypt | Netflix | Mystery, Drama, Romance | a beautiful reinvention of the Spanish telenovela Grand Hotel (one of my favorites!

This post is inspired by the many people I hear from who want to begin learning Arabic. If you’re interested in finding a program, check out my earlier post on Arabic Study Options. It includes a collection of resources. For those who just want to get their feet wet, so to speak, just taking baby steps into the alphabet and Arabic, here are some ideas for you: I have a brief Overview of the Arabic Language here.

Ghada Abdel Aal’s hilarious blog, عايزة أتجوز / I Want to Get Married was turned into a book, which has been translated into several languages. It was also adapted to an Egyptian musalsal / TV show. You can see it here. There are reviews of the book in The National here and on Muslimah Media Watch here. Hind Sabry I heard Ghada Abdel Aal speak in Austin, TX in 2010, and she seemed extremely intelligent, witty, and articulate.

Mikhail Naimy (1889-1998), an Arab-American who served in the U.S. army in WWI, wrote the following poem in 1924 to provide hope and support to fellow immigrants. I include it here today as a reminder to all of us to pause when we are faced with challenges. I understand “close your eyes” here as a call to look inside or to be mindful of the present moment to gain a new perspective.

This month, for a change, I’m just sharing a poem here. Maya Angelou’s Human Family reminds us of our connectedness. I had the honor to hear her speak in Austin, Texas. For me, she provides the voice of one our collective grandmothers, like a lighthouse in the distance or a signpost on our collective journey. Enjoy! Audio here: Human Family I note the obvious differences in the human family. Some of us are serious, some thrive on comedy.

Cover art – The Tale of Princess Fatima, Warrior Woman: The Arabic Epic of Dhat al-Himma I’m delighted to announce the publication of my new book, The Tale of Princess Fatima, Warrior Woman: The Arabic Epic of Dhat al-Himma. This handy book contains carefully selected episodes from the longest extant Arabic epic, and the only one named for a woman. Below is a photo of the seven volumes that comprise the original Arabic text.

Photo of Thomas Tew from Wikipedia I write this from Rhode Island, which lays claim to numerous historical pirates such as Thomas Tew. Piracy was part of the historical international economy that was powered by sea transport. Yet it came to color stereotypes of particular nations. Such misperceptions and their effects are long-lived. This post offers a quick look at how piracy became a key element of American perceptions of North Africa.

UPDATE JAN. 2023: The MLE collection of Arabic study opportunities will no longer be updated. Please continue to use it as a reference, but refer to the contact information of the various programs for updated information. Thank you! With summer stretching before us, it’s time to take an updated look at Arabic study options. For some people, whose lives are affected by the academic calendar, summer represents an excellent opportunity for Arabic study (if this is not the case for you, you can still benefit from these ideas, keeping them in mind for after the summer if that works better for you).