Dear Friends of the Center for Arab American Studies,
Welcome to the 2020-2021 academic year at UM-Dearborn. It is difficult for us to be online rather than greet students in person on campus this Fall, but I am grateful that our leadership has taken such care in protecting the campus community in this distressing time while enabling us to continue to offer the quality education we are known for. All of our AAST classes are online, and enrollments are very strong, so please wish us well as we continue to teach and learn under these strained circumstances.
We will not be quite as active with public programming as we were last year, but we do have many challenging and entertaining events in the works that we can share with you online. And we continue to plan for that moment when the vaccine is readily available and we can return to one another’s company.
I realize that first year students are not yet included in our mailings for this newsletter, so I’ll encourage each of you to reach out to your friends and family who are new to campus this year. Let them know that I am happy to welcome them to the Center - to meet with them and go over the requirements for our minor and certificate. I can also steer them towards other exciting programs, the many student organizations we work with, and the myriad resources we offer.
This year we’ll be working with the Arab American National Museum to produce a podcast based on interviews with and readings by Arab American writers. The Halal Metropolis project also posted video from the gallery talks we presented prior to the pandemic. We’ll begin presenting new talks in the series (remotely) next month, so stay tuned.
And I am finally teaching a public history class on the basements and garages of Greater Dearborn. My students are looking for people to interview (remotely) for this work, so please reach out if you have good stories to share or a basement or garage worth our documenting.
In the interim, I wish you all health and peace, and the ability to continue making progress toward your goals.
Sincerely,
Sally Howell
