Teaching+the+Literature+of+Today's+Middle+East


 * //Teaching the Literature of Today's Middle East// by Allen Webb:**

I truly enjoyed Allen Webb's guide to teaching literature of the Middle East. Published in 2012, it is not only up-to-date on many of the current issues involving U.S./Middle Eastern relations, but the layout of the chapters and themes that Webb presents flow extremely well, making it a very enjoyable and informative read.



Another reason I really enjoyed this book was because the author and contributors are all professors, assistant professors, teachers, and people living and working in Michigan. It felt very close to home since I'm familiar with the schools and areas mentioned.

Literally taken from the text..."Allen Webb is a Professor of English Education and Postcolonial Studies at Western Michigan University. He has written or edited seven books, published over thirty articles and given more than 100 conference presentations primarily on the subject of teaching literature. He taught English at West Linn High School for six years, at the University of Oregon for five years, and at Western Michigan University for eighteen years. His master degrees and PhD are in English education and comparative literature" (196).


 * Skewed Perceptions of a Region and its People:**

For someone who holds cultural awareness close to their heart, //Teaching the Literature of Today's Middle East// was quite suitable for me and my teaching philosophies. Webb's main reasons for writing this text are obvious. In his introduction chapter he discusses the lack of understanding many Americans have towards this specific region of the world, and how many perceptions are problematically skewed due to the media's presentation of the Middle East and it's people. Webb's solution for creating understanding and social awareness, especially for secondary students, is through literature. Through literature, students are able to see the Middle East through new lenses, while also humanizing a region of people that many Americans tend to dehumanize due to our vast cultural "differences". Through multiple forms of text, Webb also points out the many ways educators can get students thinking less about these differences, and more about our similarities as humans.




 * The Chapters and their Layout:**

Broken up into twelve theme-based chapters, Webb typically provides an introduction to a specific theme or aspect, why it is important in the context learning, and then provides an overview of different texts and documentaries that would fit under the specified theme.

For example, the first chapter titled, //Cultural and Religious Contexts,// discusses the complexities of Islam (as well as Christianity and Judaism), cultural misconceptions, and has many examples of how to get students thinking and connecting the Quran and the Bible - which really aren't all that different. Before going too in depth on religion, Webb references a statement that you can find online titled, //Religion in the Public Schools: A Joint Statement of Current Law//, and he goes on to explain that, "It makes clear that while teachers may not conduct religious services in the classroom or expect or require students to adopt specific religious beliefs, teaching about religion, the history of religion, comparative religion, and religious sacred texts 'are all permissible public school subjects.' Moreover, the document makes the point that 'it would be difficult to teach art, music, literature, and most social studies without considering religious influences' (10).

What I probably like best about the layout of Webb's book is his own overview of the different pieces of literature. Not only does he do a really good job of explaining the book and how it relates to a specific theme, but every time he introduces a new text he also gives an age range, the page numbers, date, and pretty much anything a teacher would want to know about a book. He also provides consistent commentaries/overviews given by both high school students, and college level students going into teaching which I found to be very helpful.

Other noteworthy chapters included in Webb's book are:

Muslim Women in the Middle East A New High School Social Studies Class: The Middle East, Beginning with Turkey Europe and America in the Middle East: Colonialism, Neo-Colonialism, Intervention, Terrorism, and War Embedded: Teaching the Iraq War Teaching the Israel-Palestine Conflict Teaching Muslim Students Connecting British and American Literature to the Middle East


 * Noteworthy Quotes:**

"Since an Arab poet or novelist - and there are many - writes of his experiences, of his values, of his humanity...he effectively disrupts the various patterns (images, clichés, abstractions) by which the Orient is represented. A literary text speaks more or less directly of a living reality" (24).

"Said (author of //Orientalism//) makes another argument that is central to this book, that the study of literature needs to be combined with the study of culture and politics. He says, 'Too often literature and culture are presumed to be politically, even historically innocent; it has regularly seemed otherwise to me that society and literary culture can only be understood and studied together" (25).

"There is no such thing as an essential or unified 'Islamic world' or 'Muslim viewpoint.' There are over 1.5 billion Muslims in the world and practitioners are not only in the Middle East and North Africa, but also throughout Asia - southern, central, and southeastern. There are Muslims in China, Russia, and India - Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim country. There are Muslims in Europe, in South America, and the Caribbean. There are approximately 7 million Muslims in the United States. There are Muslims of every political point of view, every racial group, speaking an enormous diversity of languages." (10).

"Each region and people who came under its sway developed its own kind of Islam...and, once we add matters of language, culture, history, politics, community, and school of interpretation in all the various parts of the world, the question of Islam and Muslims becomes virtually unapproachable from any simple or summary point of view" (12).

"As teachers it is important that we help students understand and go beyond stereotypes. What our teaching ought to do is to complicate not reproduce generalities, to open up the never-ending basket of differences, to keep refining and deepening our understanding and knowledge, perhaps until we can reach a point where it becomes harder and harder to identify difference" (30).