Reported by Katrina Altersitz
Illustrated by Okan Arabacioglu

When Shibley Telhami accepted the position of Anwar Sadat Professor for Peace and Development nine years ago, his appointment laid the groundwork for what has become a significantly enhanced exploration of the Middle East. At the time, neither Arabic nor Persian was taught on a regular basis. “Our students didn’t really have access to scholarship on the Middle East,” says Telhami. Much has changed since then. Today, Maryland boasts a program that stretches over multiple disciplines and departments to broaden the horizons and opportunities for covering the Middle East from the perspectives of government, culture, language and religion.

JOINING FORCES

One such area is the burgeoning Center for Persian Studies that is bringing the cultures of Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and the sizable Persian-speaking diaspora to greater light. Under the direction of Professor Ahmad Karimi-Hakkak, “one of the best known and most respected culture specialists outside of Iran,” says Michael Long, director of the School of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures, the center is attracting scholars of international distinction. Columbia University Professor Emeritus Ehsan Yarshater delivered the inaugural speech for the Khayami Distinguished Lecture in Persian Studies in fall 2005 and subsequently funded a series for the center. The editor-in-chief of the critically acclaimed Encyclopaedia Iranica, Yarshater’s contributions to the world’s greater understanding of Persian and Iranian culture have earned him admiration from his countrymen.

The Center for Persian Studies plans to have a minor available by the end of this academic year and a major the following year. “We have students from comparative literature, government and politics and women’s studies,” says Karimi-Hakkak. “They take their theory and methodology courses in those departments and they develop the capacity for the language, literature and culture in our center.”

While students under Karimi-Hakkak master Persian, others learn other languages necessary to communicate with the people in the Middle East and important for each student’s experience and success.

“There is a fundamental difference in approaching a culture, a society, when you have firsthand access to material and people because you can communicate in their language,” says Eric Zakim, associate professor and coordinator of the Hebrew program. Professor Telhami agrees and explains that this shift can also help international relations. He relates his experience on a bipartisan commission for public diplomacy in the State Department where they discovered that only five people in the entire department were fluent enough in Arabic to appear comfortably on television.

“It’s really remarkable how few Americans, whether they’re diplomats or fighting in war or for that matter even in the intelligence community, actually mastered the language of the Middle East,” Telhami says. “The establishments of a Persian Studies center and an Arabic language program have made it so much better for our students and in the long run for U.S. diplomacy.”

One such student is government and politics major Marie Schilling (shown above). Her fascination with WW II history, language and travel have led her on international forays to the French Riviera, where an aunt lives, and Ireland, where her family has roots. Next fall, she will spend a semester in Budapest, Hungary.

As for the Middle East, Schilling wants to learn more about that part of the world to gain a better understanding of “why there are no easy solutions.” She has good reason. Her older sister, Kathryne ’03, is a 1st Lt. in the U.S. Marines, stationed west of Baghdad.

So, she jumped at the opportunity to study Arabic last fall. “Arabic is completely different from any other language I had previously encountered—different alphabet, different sounds,” says Schilling. “I believe Arabic will take me somewhere,” which she thinks could include a job at the State Department or United Nations.

TALK THE TALK

Encouraging informed dialogue is just what Ambassador Joseph Gildenhorn and his wife, Alma, had in mind in establishing last fall the Institute for Israel Studies that bears their names. The Honorable Joseph B. and Alma Gildenhorn Institute for Israel Studies is an integral part of existing and emerging programs in Middle East studies.

“We feel that there is such a vibrant Middle East program at the university and there was a need for the State of Israel to have a strong voice in further debate,” says Alma Gildenhorn. “The center will focus on contemporary Israel … its history, its leaders and politics, its socio-economic structure, and its pioneering work in the sciences and technology. Central to the institute’s mandate will be a discussion of the conflicts and challenges that face Israel daily.”

Erik Zakim, who also serves as interim director of the institute, expects that many influential speakers will come and share their knowledge and experience with students and the community. “This will promote understanding and, hopefully, lead to solutions to the conflicts that prevail in that region,” says Ambassador Gildenhorn.

The director of the Joseph and Rebecca Meyerhoff Center for Jewish Studies, Hayim Lapin, sees great potential in the new Institute for Israel Studies for sharing perspectives. “It’s an opportunity for an open and balanced intellectual assessment of all of the dimensions of Israeli society in the Middle East. We’re interested in going beyond the conflict. There’s a lot more to talk about.”

University of Maryland President Dan Mote sees the Gildenhorn Institute for Israel Studies significantly enhancing Maryland’s Jewish Studies program—already among the largest in the nation. “But what will make us unique is that Israel studies will be integrated into all areas of the university’s programs in Middle East studies,” says Mote. “This is highly unusual and difficult to achieve.” - TERP

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