I?m uninspired in starting up this diary after the return from Greece, but? let?s just call it post-vacation syndrome!
The campus remains fairly quiet. Now that we are back to a ?normal? schedule, things have really settled down. Chris Ohan is getting his students all set for a series of American Corner events. He is having his AUK students interview American students about their perceptions of the Middle East, Islam, Arabs, the war on terror etc. ? then they?ll report to their peers on what they?ve learned. The goal is to teach oral history/information gathering skills in a structured way. There will be 7 sessions ? an ambitious project.
I?ve been making further plans for the Iraqi training program, which will now definitely occur in Amman, Jordan ? the teaching will be on 18-22 November at ACOR. I?ll get there ahead of time and depart a couple of days after it finishes ? taking care of all the business details. I?m also planning to take a brief trip to Beirut ? AMICAL business and perhaps gather some useful information for the training program from my Lebanese counterparts ? will be there first week of November. One thing for sure that I?ll miss is the travel that has come along with this job.
Last night the Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah kicked off its cultural season with a lecture entitled ?Masterpieces of an Unknown Iranian Metalworker.? The speaker, Professor Geza Fehervari, is the 85 year old curator of the Tareq Rajab Museum. Tonight on campus we are having the former president of Costa Rica, Jose Maria Figueres Olsen, talk about ?Mitigating Climate Change: Our Responsibility with the Next Generations.?