Reflections of Arab American Literature

  R esearch in Education Margins (Above):      Perceptions of ASL Interpretation Service Offerings at a Secondary Institution , which was presented by Marley (B.A in ASL '25) and Professor Champoux-Crowley (English Department). The research over all was based on the level of learning in D/deaf students and their engagement with interpreters and the factors that lead interpretation services to not producing proper understanding of sign language. I learned about interpreters who are forced to more than their job description how it affects their ability to do their job because they are overloaded with extra menial tasks. The study provides evidence that interpreters who don't have the proper license and certifications can affect learning in deaf children, an example would be obtaining ITP (Interpreter Training Program) certification even though their EIPA (Education Interpreter Performance Assessment) score was low in terms of passing the assessment. A pilot study was ...

       In my opinion the meaning of home is wherever the connection someone has towards something or someone that makes a person feel whole or a sense of belonging. Based on what is known about the actuality of the characters - Amani, Gabe, and Musa to their real life counterparts, in a way helps with going into full detail about what home really means for each of these characters and dissecting the reasons why.  Amani - Jordan is Amani's home as well as family. Amani's in the beginning of the novel indicated her interest in going to land of her father, simply because she wanted to know more about her heritage and all about her family's history. Most important she wanted to connect with her roots since she was living in America for most of her life. Throughout the novel Amani was able to learn  about her fathers familiarity with King H, his past history with fencing, the true face of her uncle, and learning about her own family secrets as well. Amani's jou...

    The meaning of Isra dying at the literal hands of her own husband Adam, was her first and final act of retaliation, her way of breaking away from the dark shadows of basement where she lived with her husband. Isra's way of showing her voice was through her action even if it meant that she would potentially die trying. This is shown within the book  "A Woman is No Man" , where it's shows Isra's perspective after getting caught running away from home, and seeing how even in her last moments she was able to find her voice that had been suppressed for so long.      I believe the reason why Etaf Rum chose to add the tragic scene at the end to prove that Isra's story lives on, it gives the readers an afterthought of what Isra had experienced in her marriage from the family oppression to self isolation. The ending of the books was perhaps intentional to connect the dots on Isra's life, her struggles throughout the story, especially with always seeking love fr...

       I attended the global Issues colloquium presented by professor Cecilia Rizcallah, in which she talks about the fundamental problems occurring within the EU and the impact it has surrounding other countries who are affiliated with the European Union. In terms of foreign policy and looking at things from a global perspective I gained insight on the principles of how to face a crisis in the European Union. Rizcallah pointed out in her presentation that the EU has been hindering children's access to content (social media I presume), that promotes anything related to sexuality and the identification of one's gender completely opposite of the one assigned at birth. She further talks about the role that the union has, and elaborates that the EU is more of an international value-based union, that in her own words " respects the peace and human law ".      Rizcallah points out that the organization is separate from any type of military engagement and wan...

  Jallabiya ( جلابية )  - Type of long loose fitting garment. The role of the clothing represents Nadali's culture as an Egyptian-Palestinian. Karamati ( كَرَامَاتِي ) - Translates to "my dignity", meaning a sense of pride or self respect in which is a saying that Nadali keeps in her mind since it's something her father always said. Karamati bears significance towards Nadali's self actualization and her internal view of home within herself. It shows that Nadali has a great sense of character and good moral compass, even if her answer was said while she was half awake/half asleep. Fateha ( الفاتحة ) - Translates to "the opening" in relation to the beginning of the first chapter of the Quran , which bears a heavy religious importance. In Islam it's recited in daily prayers and the connection with Fateha is part of Nadali's identity as she is learning more about the Qur'an. Surat ul - shrah ( سُورَةُ الشَّرۡحِ ) - Translates to the "t...

     In Diana Abu-Jaber's Crescent , the role of exile is mentioned continuously throughout the entire main story. When thinking of exile, it means to be banished or cast off from one place and never having the possibility to return. In the story we learn about Hanif or Han for short who is constantly homesick after being cast out of his home in Iraq due to the regime of  Sadan Hussein, which social disrupted his way of life when living in LA, California. In part 2 of the novel in chapter 20 Han vividly explains to Sirine his entire childhood back when he was living in Iraq, from what he did with his childhood friend Sami, to meeting the wives of successful diplomats, all the way down to the conversations he had with his mother and father. It's very significant because it just shows how much of a home Iraq was for him.       The  novel Cresce nt   states, "Sometimes even now, I still dream I'm back in my room, back in Iraq, and Jane...