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Connecting Cultures Through Georgetown University
In the last decade , the Middle
East has rarely left the headlines . Millions of Americans served in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq , and then came the Arab Spring , revolution in Tunisia and Egypt and civil wars in Libya , Yemen , and Syria , swiftly followed by the biggest refugee crisis in living memory . No wonder U . S . interest in the culture and politics of the region has surged like never before .
But for all the rolling news coverage , the gulfs of misunderstanding dividing the two regions remain vast . Bridging these gulfs is the remit of the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies ( CCAS ) at Georgetown University , America ’ s oldest and largest center for Arab studies , and one of its biggest supporters — the Embassy of the State of Qatar .
“ I expect that the Embassy wants to encourage understanding between the Arab World and the U . S .,” explains Dr . Elizabeth Kelley , the Qatar Post-Doctoral Fellow at CCAS . An anthropologist ,
Kelley studies how Arab literature and culture are understood and misunderstood in the United States .
“ They [ the Qataris ] want Americans to understand the Middle East better so they can improve those relations ,” says Kelley . “ More people talking about the subject will improve connections and communication , and make understanding and dialogue more likely and possible .”
“ The Embassy of the State of Qatar stands as a symbol of the close friendship between the American and Qatari people .”
The success of this program can be seen in attendance at CCAS ’ s many public events and in the number of applications to its distinguished Master of Arts in Arab Studies program , both of which have more than doubled since 2001 ; the Center now hosts more than 75 events a year and had 47 masters students in fall 2015 .
A Model of Global Diplomacy
Georgetown University is one of the world ’ s leading academic and research institutions . Founded in 1789 — the same year the Constitution became the law of the land — it is the nation ’ s oldest Catholic university and home to the CCAS , founded in 1975 . Georgetown offers more than 150 courses about the Arab World each year , focusing on diverse topics like the Arabic language , history , government , business , economics , and law . The university also has a satellite campus , the Edmund
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