April is Arab American Heritage Month
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Ramadan Mubarak, Happy Easter, Happy Passover, and Happy Arab American Heritage month!
April is an eventful month for most of us, with much to celebrate and be grateful about. It is also the last month of winter term at UM-Dearborn, and so I wish you a smooth run-up to finals and the end of the term.
To mark Ramadan and Arab American Heritage month, we will be hosting a student-centered arts & crafts table and donation drive at the Mardigian library on Thursday, April 6 from 3:30-5:00pm. A professional illustrator will be on hand to help everyone make Eid cards. Proceeds from the food drive will go to the Campus Food Pantry, which is in particular need of coffee tea, cereal, oats, and snacks. On that day, a number of students from my Introduction to Arab American Studies course will be displaying some of their PBL class projects at the library!
The CAAS podcast Seen Jeem continues to release new episodes every Tuesday. Please keep checking it out and look for an interview I did with CAAS faculty member and graphic artist Wessam Elmeligi, slated to air on April 4th!
As March was Women’s History Month, we were fortunate to sponsor two remarkable presentations. One was by the acclaimed playwright Heather Raffo, who gave beautiful readings and discussion of her plays 9 Parts of Desire and Tomorrow will Be Sunday. A recording of Heather’s visit is available on the CAAS YouTube channel here. You can also listen to my interview with Heather on the Seen Jeem podcast here. The other event was a Zoom visit by award-winning historian Stacy Fahrenthold, who talked about her work “Unmentionables: Women Garment Work, & Labor Politics in the Arab American Mahjar.” Her work opens new paths in approaches to scholarship and knowledge about Arab American women’s work, activism, and social engagement in the early twentieth century.
As you know, my one-year appointment as interim director is coming to a close. I have had an amazing experience getting to know the faculty, staff, and students at UM-Dearborn as well as members of the broader community in Dearborn and at UM-Ann Arbor. Thank you all for making my time here so rewarding and meaningful. I will miss being around you all! The good news is I will continue to be connected to the Center and all of you virtually as I will be teaching Arab American literature/AAST courses online through the English department! I also plan to be back in Dearborn for the Arab American Studies Association conference, which will be held at the Arab American National Museum on April 12-14, 2024. I hope to see many of you there!
As we wrap up the semester, I wish you all a good end of the term and a happy summer!
Pauline Homsi Vinson, PhD
Visiting Assistant Professor and Interim Director at the Center for Arab American Studies
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The Middle East Studies major is now on track to start in Fall 2023. Congratulations to Cam Amin and the MEST team for making this happen!
CAAS PBL Class projects on Display! Students from Pauline Homsi Vinson’s Introduction to Arab American Studies class will be displaying their projects: Personal Narratives and Museum Archives at the library on April 6. We will upload digital versions to the CAAS websites next week.
Ghassan Abou-Zeineddine will be taking an appointment at Oberlin College. Mabrouk, Ghassan. You will be missed at UM-Dearborn!
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OPPORTUNITIES
Research Assistant Positions Open!
Interested in Conducting Community Engaged Research in the Metro Detroit area this summer? Join Professor Rose Wellman's research team. Wellman will employ two or more students to conduct ethnographic research in our community this summer with the potential to continue employment into the Fall. Research will focus on the Shi`i Muslim Arab American community. Topics of discussion will include family life, religion, and food as well as experiences of migration and resettlement. Arab language skills are a plus! Contact Prof. Wellman at wellmanr@umich.edu if you would like to participate or for more information.
Volunteer Opportunities in the Community!
The 17th Annual National Arab American Service Day will be held on Saturday, May 6th at 9am. This annual event brings Arab Americans across the country together to volunteer and make a positive difference in our communities. In Dearborn, we will be doing restoration projects with ACCESS’s own Hope House and working with the City of Dearborn to complete service projects in local parks. Volunteers can sign up to volunteer with us by using the following registration form; more information will be provided after registration. Registration is required by April 30th.
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Islamic Arts & Crafts with Malika Ayyubi. Make Eid cards, bring donations for the campus food pantry, and celebrate Arab American Heritage Month with CAAS! This event is free and open to all.
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10th Annual Fast-A-Thon Dinner! Iftar and donation drive with the Muslim Student Association
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MOVE stan ds for Mobilize, Organize, Vocalize, and Empower. Produced by ACCESS, the nation’s largest Arab American organization, and its four national institutions – the Arab American National Museum, the National Network for Arab American Communities, the Center for Arab American Philanthropy, and the Center for Arab Narratives – this biennial, two-day convening is held in Dearborn, Michigan, the heart of Arab America. For more information, click here.
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PANEL DISCUSSIONS
2023 AASA Virtual Round Table Discussion: The Place of Translation in Arab American Studies
Apr 24, 2023 03:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
This virtual roundtable explores the relationship between translation studies and Arab American studies. Its purpose is to generate an open-ended dialogue within the two fields. Click here to register and find out more.
2023 AASA Virtual Round Table Discussion: Topics in Arab American Studies: MENA and SWANA Categories and their Implications on Public Policy, Research, and Higher Ed
Apr 25, 2023 03:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
This virtual panel examines the uses of the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) and SWANA (Southwest Asia and North Africa) categories in relation to Arab American studies, public policy, and anti-racist advocacy in higher education. Click here to register and find out more.
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Deadline is April 12, 2023
The Jack G. Shaheen Mass Communications Scholarship is now accepting applications. The scholarship recognizes and awards Arab American university students who excel in Media Studies. To learn more about the scholarship, and the application process, visit here.
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Deadline is April 9, 2023
The Center for Arab American Philanthropy (CAAP) is now accepting applications for Ebeid Family Fund scholarships that support UM-Dearborn students. For more information on the scholarship, and the application process, visit here.
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Please remember that the Center for Arab American Studies is here to serve your community.
If you have a story or historical documents to share, we are here to collect them and get them into safe hands. We also offer a Minor and a Certificate in Arab American Studies. If you are a researcher searching for a helping hand, we have decades of experience and connections to share.
So reach out to us!
And remember that we can use your help as well! If you are able to support CAAS with a gift of any size, or with a story, please reach out to us here!
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