A hard copy of final
Version of Term Paper is due in class on Wednesday, May 7.
Please also submit the corrected first version of your term paper as well.
Week 12 – April 21 & 23
Monday: Diana Abu-Jaber: Fencing with the
King
READ: Fencing with the King, pp. 1-149
Wednesday: Diana Abu-Jaber: Fencing with the
King
READ: Fencing with the King, pp. 150-End
Week 13 – April 28 & 30
Monday: Guest Speaker/Interview with Diana
Abu-Jaber on Zoom (TBD)
Post your questions onto BB under Discussion Forum
Wednesday: Discussion of Novel and Preparation for Banquet
Blog Entry 9: Discuss the notion of home in the novel for various characters, mainly for Amani, Gabe, and Musa. OR Reflect about our interview and talk with Diana ABU-JABER. Your entry MUST be at least 300 words in length. Add a word count at the end of your entry. Blog is due on Wednesday, April 30 by midnight.
READ: Crescent, Part 2, Chapters 28-End, pp. 308-395 plus the interview with Andrea Shalal-Esa at the end of the novel.
Wednesday: Guestspeaker: Andrea Shalal,
Reuters-Thompson, Washington, DC
Poetry by Arab-Americans: Naomi Shihab-Nye, Nathalie Handal, Khaled Mattawa,
and more
Blog Entry 5: In an interview with Andrea Shalal-Esa, Abu-Jaber said “... food is such a great human connecter, it’s so intimate. ... Let the food be a metaphor for their experiences.” What does Abu-Jaber mean by that? Write a reflection about the role of food in the novel. OR Write a reflectio0n on one the following topics: Political issues raised in the book; images of the Arab-American community in LA; gender issues; role of exile; relationship between main and frame story; Arabic words, their meaning and role in the book; role of rituals in the book. Your entry MUST be at least 300 words in length. Add a word count at the end of your entry. Blog is due on Wednesday, March 5 by midnight.
Week 5 - Feb. 24 & 26
Monday: Diana Abu-Jaber Crescent
READ: Crescent, Part 1, Chapters 1-19, pp. 15-237, plus the biography of Diana Abu-Jaber at the end of the novel.
Wednesday: Diana Abu-Jaber Crescent
READ: Crescent, Part 2, Chapters 20-25, pp. 241-307
Week 4 - Feb. 17 & 19
Monday: Arab-Americans after 9/11
READ: “How Does It Feel to Be a Problem? Being Young and Arab in America” by Moustafa Bayoumi, “Preface” and “Rasha,” pp. 1-44 (On Blackboard under Course Documents)
Watch Film at Home: Detroit Unleaded (2014) (92 minutes) Written and Directed by Rola Nasheff
Wednesday: READ:“How Does It Feel to Be a Problem? Being Young and Arab in America” by Moustafa Bayoumi, “Afterward,” pp. 259-270 (On Blackboard under Course Documents)
Discussion of Readings and Film
Blog Entry 4: How does it feel to be Arab-American after 9/11? Discuss some of the problems and issues Arab-Americans are facing and that Moustafa Bayoumi writes about. Your entry MUST be at least 300 words in length. Add a word count at the end of your entry. Blog is due on Wednesday, Feb. 19 by midnight.
Week 3 – Feb. 10 & 12
Monday: Suheir Hammad: Born Palestinian, Born Black
READ: Each student will prepare two poems from the book. Read one aloud in front of the class and tell us what this poem means to you. You may want to find out whether that poem is available on YouTube read by the author herself.
Watch Film at Home: Annemarie Jacir Salt of this Sea (2010) (104 min.) with Suheir Hammad
Wednesday: Discussion of Film and Readings
READ: “I Wanted That Story to Be Told: Interview with Annemarie Jacir” by Ferial Ghazoul, Moustafa Bayoumi and Hamid Dabashi, on Blackboard under Course Documents.
Blog Entry 3: After reading and hearing a few poems by Suheir Hammad and watching the film Salt of the Sea, write a reflection on Suheir Hammad and her poetry. What does she mean with “Born Palestinian Born Black”? Why did she choose this title for a collection of her poems? Your entry MUST be at least 300 words in length. Add a word count in parenthesis at the end of your entry. Blog is due on Wednesday, Feb. 12 by midnight.
Week 2 – Feb. 3 & 5
Monday: Kahlil Gibran: The Prophet
READ: Each student will prepare one part of the book The Prophet. Read it aloud in front of the class and tell us what this passage means to you.
Watch Film at Home: Roger Allers; The Prophet (2015, 86 min.) with Salma Hayek & Liam Neeson.
Wednesday: Discussion of Film and Readings
READ: “Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet: Why is it so loved?” By Shoku Amirani & Stephanie Hegarty BBC World Service https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-17997163 or on Blackboard
Blog Entry 2: After reading and hearing passages from The Prophet and watching the film, write a reflection on Kahlil Gibran and his poetry. Choose one or more of the chapters in the book that you like the most and explain why you like those? What significance do they have to your life? Would you send those to family and friends to read? On what occasions and why? Elaborate! Your entry MUST be at least 300 words in length. Add a word count in parenthesis at the end of your entry. Blog is due on Wednesday, Feb. 5 by midnight.
Week 1 – Jan. 27 & 29
Tuesday: Introduction of
Course and Material
Film: History of Arab-American (For more info, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_Americans)
Thursday: Arab-American Literature
READ: Lisa Suhair Majaj “Arab-American
Literature: Origins & Developments” (Blackboard)
Blog Entry 1: Why did you choose this class? What are you hoping to accomplish in the course? What do you know about the Arab American community? Have you ever read any books by Arab or Muslim Americans? Elaborate! Your entry MUST be at least 300 words in length. Add a word count in parenthesis at the end of your entry. Blog is due on Wednesday, January 29 by midnight.
Required Books:
