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Fulbright Program for U.S. Students

U.S. Archives

Issue 7 | June 2004

Near East/ North Africa
table of contents

 Program Updates

Revisions, Deadlines, and Individual Attention Successful Scholarship Advising

by Gerise Herndon

2004 has been a particularly gratifying year to be a Fulbright Program Adviser at our little college on the prairie. A primarily undergraduate liberal arts college with an enrollment of 1500, Nebraska Wesleyan University students have received four Fulbright scholarships. Preparing students to apply begins well before their senior year, however. We are fortunate to have a Prestige Scholarship Adviser who is given one course release per year to assist with recruiting potential applicants for ten different prestige scholarships, including Truman, Mellon, Gilman, Rotary, and of course, the Fulbright. He asks professors of our required first semester course, the Liberal Arts Seminar, for the names of first-year students who seem particularly academically successful and thus might make promising applicants. During their second semester of college, he asks these students if they would like to be members of the Society of Scholars, a group that meets for meals with professors and learns the making of a successful applicant. Potential applicants are encouraged to be well-rounded, to read widely and engage with courses in a variety of disciplines, in addition to attending lectures by visiting speakers and participating in service learning. If they are not studying an international language, they are encouraged to do so and to attend the various conversation tables (French, German, Spanish) at a nearby coffeehouse. These students may consult with me as FPA as early as their second semester of college, though some do not become aware of the Fulbright scholarship until their fall semester of their senior year. In addition to the Society of Scholars, we also provide a one-hour scholarship honors course that students are encouraged to take during their sophomore or junior year. The scholarship honors course prepares them for the details of applying and includes practice writing personal narratives and research proposals as well as practice interviewing.

Finally, their senior year, applicants for the Fulbright submit drafts of their research proposals and curricula vitae by the first week of September. After attending an FPA workshop led by Walter Jackson, I encourage students to think of the curriculum vitae as an intellectual autobiography showing how their academic lives have led them to the point of applying for a Fulbright and how they and their career possibilities will be enhanced or changed as a result of the Fulbright. The research proposal should answer the questions:

-- Why you?
-- What makes you particularly qualified to conduct this research?
-- Why this particular host country?
-- Why a Fulbright? Why must you do the research there?
-- What contribution will you make to the academic dialogue within the host culture?

The five-member committee reads and comments on the drafts providing suggestions for enlivening prose, narrowing focus, cutting needless material, and developing key concepts. We ask for revised drafts before the campus interview. We use the revised drafts to help us focus our interview questions. We continue to make suggestions for major revision and may help with proofreading or editing the final draft. Being an English professor and teaching writing as revision gives me a particular advantage when motivating students to revise. Their essays only improve through rewriting, and students have great difficulty transforming their essays without a second pair of eyes to see their first drafts clearly. Firm deadlines for drafts also assist students in having the self-discipline to shape the essays as rigorously as possible.

Given that we have no funding, I have no magical way to entice faculty to serve on the Campus Fulbright Evaluation Committee. Though some faculty have had to withdraw from the committee because of the enormous amount of time it takes, I have no difficulty finding sufficient faculty who enjoy serving. Currently there are five of us from five different departments, two men and three women. They believe it is important work and often see their service simply as an extension of the kind of teaching and advising we already do at NWU. I ask the Provost to write letters of thanks to them and to their department chairs (as does the Prestige Scholarship Adviser). I believe faculty participate because they care about high academic standards and they want to see our students succeed.

Our process of preparing students to apply for prestige scholarships seems to have been successful. Our four scholarships this year include two English Teaching Assistantships to Taiwan and Korea and two full scholarships to Colombia and Turkey. This is the second time since the year 2000 we have received four Fulbrights. Students repeatedly thanked the professors on our campus committee for their assistance in reading drafts and providing guidance. Perhaps the process works so well on our campus because we are an undergraduate teaching college and accustomed to working very closely with students and advisees. Being available to answer their questions and giving them a great deal of individual attention is part of who we are.

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The US Student Fulbright Program in the Near East/North Africa

by Jermaine Jones, Program Manager, Africa and the Middle East

Over the last five years, the trend in applications for the Near East and North Africa has generally followed that of the US Student program worldwide. A total of 198 applications were received in 2000/2001, and following two years of declining interest in the region (during which the figure dropped to 149 during 2002/2003) has since rebounded nicely. IIE received 269 applications for these countries in 2004/2005--a 16% increase over 225 received during the previous year. This was the second consecutive year in which applications to the region posted significant gains--in 2003/2004, they increased by nearly 34% over the 2002/2003 figure.

The September 11th attacks and the subsequent war on terror and Iraqi conflict clearly account for much of the heightened interest in this region among US college and university students. The growth in the number of Islamic Civilization grants (discussed elsewhere in the newsletter) has also contributed to this trend. Of the 93 total applications that IIE received for these awards, 61 were for nations in the Near East/ North Africa. This represented 66% of the total Islamic Civilization applicant pool, and 23% of the applications received for the region as a whole.

The countries in the region with Bi-national Fulbright Commissions (Egypt, Israel, Jordan, and Morocco) generally receive the most applications. 202 students applied to these four nations last year, accounting for 75% of the regional total. While these countries offer a greater number of grants than others in the region, another selling point may be their less stringent language requirements:

- For Egypt, a working knowledge of Arabic is not required unless it is needed for the project. Many applicants often use their grants to support language training at the American University in Cairo (AUC) or the Center for Arabic Study Abroad (CASA).

- For Morocco, French fluency may suffice instead of proficiency in Modern Standard Arabic or spoken Moroccan Arabic. This will ultimately depend on the nature and objectives of the applicant's research. Grantees who do not have a strong command of spoken Moroccan Arabic are encouraged to begin their grants with an intensive five-week course in the language.

- While useful, a working knowledge of Hebrew is not required in Israel unless it is needed for the project.

While Egypt is the sole country in which Arabic language training may be proposed as the sole grant activity, Fulbrighters to other countries in the region (namely Syria and Jordan) have also pursued instruction in Arabic in order to complement their research projects and enhance their knowledge of the language.



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Frequently Asked Questions about the Islamic Civilization Initiative

by Jermaine Jones, Program Manager, Africa and the Middle East

What is the Islamic Civilization Initiative?

The Islamic Civilization Initiative is a subset of US Student Fulbright grants designed to encourage projects that will enhance knowledge and understanding of Islam and the Islamic world, broadly defined. The Initiative's eligibility criteria have been kept fairly broad in order to accommodate the widest possible range of disciplines, fields of study, and countries.

Is fluency/proficiency in Arabic a prerequisite for applying for one of these grants?

Not necessarily. However, applicants will need to review the language requirements for the country (-ies) to which they plan to apply. They should also keep in mind that language study as a supplement to the research project is encouraged under this Initiative.

What types of projects have been funded under this Initiative?

Since its inception in 2001/2002, the Initiative has funded grants in a wide range of different disciplines, including Anthropology, Near/Middle Eastern Studies, Comparative Literature, Ethnomusicology, History, Law, Religion, and Sociology. Candidates in Photography and Painting/Printmaking have also received Islamic Civilization grants. (A list of Islamic Civilization projects is available elsewhere on the newsletter website.)

What is the screening process for Islamic Civilization applications? And if a candidate is non-recommended for one of these awards, could s/he be considered for a standard Fulbright grant?

A committee of Islamicist scholars conducts the first round of screening. The applications of those candidates who they recommend will be forwarded on to the prospective host countries for final consideration. Non-recommended applications may be transferred to the country and regional committees for consideration for standard Fulbright grants, if the Islamic Civilization Committee believes they are qualified, but do not fit the definition of Islamic Civilization. Otherwise, those not recommended will not be reviewed by a country or regional committee.

How many IC grants will be available during the 2005/2006 program year?

We expect to offer approximately 35-40 grants during the next program year.

I’ve noticed that Islamic Civilization candidates are expected to submit a post-grant outreach plan along with their applications. How detailed should this plan be, and what types of activities should I consider?

The statement of proposed research and/or study while overseas will be the most important part of the application. Nevertheless, the Islamic Civilization Committee will take the post-grant outreach plan into serious consideration, so applicants will need to give it serious thought and provide as much detail as they can. Among the activities that candidates may wish to consider for their post-grant outreach are:
-- presentations at academic and professional conferences;
-- videos and photographic slide shows to be used with K-12 schools, community groups, and similar groups 
--  publishing articles in college and local newspapers, academic journals, etc.

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List of previous grants awarded in Islamic Civilization Initiative

by Jermaine Jones, Program Manager, Africa and the Middle East

Islamic Civilization Initiative

2001/2002 Grants
 
-- Sex Equality Litigation in Pakistan
-- Trials and Testimonies of 19th Century Damascenes Social History Through Shari’a --Court Records (Near/ Middle Eastern History)
-- The Status of Women’s Education in Bahrain (Near/Middle Eastern Studies)
-- Arabic Calligraphy and Islam in Syria (Painting and Printmaking)
-- Possessing Histories and Colonial Memories in Sidi Ifni, Morocco (Anthropology)
 
2002/2003 Grants
 
-- Research on as-Sama: Classical Islamic Music in Morocco (Ethnomusicology)
-- Islamic Science and the Modern Arab World (Islamic Studies)
-- Transnational Islamic Intellectual Networks (Anthropology)
-- Arabic Language and Qu’ranic Readings (Arabic Lang. & Lit.)
-- The Religious and Social Functions of the Sayyid Families of Tarim, Hadhramawt (Islamic Studies)
-- The Mosque of Sayyida Zaynab: Traditions of Pilgrimage, Trade and Tourism (Near/Middle Eastern Studies)
 
2003/2004 Grants
 
-- Bahrain’s Economic Development Program: Untangling Incentives and Understanding Opportunities (Economic Development)
-- Religion and Economics: An Analysis of the Islamic Banking System in Bangladesh (Islamic Studies)
-- Economics, the Green Revolution, and Islam: The Growth of Local Environmental Movements in Morocco (Environmental Studies)
-- Islam, Cultural Relativism, and the Question of the Universality of International Human Rights Norms (Law)
-- Islam and Feminism in the Moroccan University: An Ethnopoetic Approach (Anthropology)
-- A New Era for Moroccan Women (Photography)
-- Shrines: Women and the Popular Practice of Islam in Damascus (Islamic Studies)
-- Umayyad Damascus: the Construction of a Multi-Religious Society (Near Eastern Studies)
-- Exploring Literary Motifs in Medieval Arabic Historiography of Greater Syria (Comparative Literature)
-- The United Arab Emirates: Religion, Politics and the South Asian Community (Islamic Civilizations)
-- Citizenship and Social Influence: A Study of the Public Sphere in Senegal (African Politics)
 
2004/2005 Grants
 
-- Gris-Gris: Traditional Talisman amongst Mandingo Muslims (Photography)
-- The Sheikh Nur Hussein Pilgrimage: Rituals, Social Behavior, and Commerce (Anthropology)
-- The Reconciliation of Traditional and Islamic Wisdom in Modern Mali (Philosophy)
-- Islamic Education and Identity in Durban, South Africa (Sociology)
-- Women and Their Involvement in Traditional Islamic Education in Tarim (Islamic Studies)
-- Muslim Family Law in Tunisia: a Comparative Study (Islamic Studies)
-- The Muslim Jesus in Damascus (Islamic Studies)
-- Women, Modernity, and Sufism: Islamic Discourse and Social Tension in Syria (Islamic Studies)
-- Rebellion in the Umayyad State (Islamic Studies)
-- Shi’I Women’s Religious Practices in Syria (Near and Middle Eastern Studies)
-- In the Shadow of the “Greatest Master”: Ibn al-‘Arabi in Damascus (Islamic Studies)
-- The Legal Thought of Ahmad Zarruq (Islamic Studies)
-- Muslim Minorities and Islamic Law: Lessons from al-Andalus (Islamic Studies)
-- Political Islam and Morocco’s Independence Struggle (Near and Middle Eastern Politics)
-- Islamic Values and Development: the Islamic Development Bank (International Relations)
-- The Role of Arabic Linguistic Sciences in Interpreting the Qu’ran (Islamic Languages and Literatures)
-- Islamic Jihad: Inner Struggle for Excellence (Islamic Studies)
-- The Nature of Differences between Islamic Banking and Western-Style Banking (Economics)
-- The Struggle for Aligarh: The Role of Muslim Institutes of Higher Education in the Formation of a Modern Muslim Identity in India (South Asian Studies)
-- Women’s Rights in Muslim Personal Law (South Asian Studies)
-- Religion and Social Development: Islamic Responses to Poverty in Hyderabad, India (Islamic Studies)
-- Satellite Television and Islamic Authority (Communications)
-- Revolution and Revision: the Development of Islamic Law in Egypt (Islamic Studies)
-- “Khul”: Using Egypt’s Personal Status Law Reform as a Case Study of Present Opportunities for Implementation of Islamic Law (Islamic Studies)

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Reflections from Syria

by Mara Kronenfeld, Syria 2001-2002

I was a Fulbrighter in Damascus, Syria from September 2001 until December of 2002 and then I stayed on in Damascus for an additional half-year to coordinate an English Language Teacher Training program administered by the Cultural Affairs section of the US Embassy and to manage the English Language Club at UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees) in Damascus.

In both positions, the young Syrians and Palestinians that I met confronted me with questions about the United States. As one would expect, the students expressed concern about US political and military involvement in the Middle East. I was more surprised, however, to face so many questions about cultural issues: particularly questions about relations between American children and their parents. Many of the young students I came across were very concerned about deteriorating family relations in the United States and what they saw as a lack of respect on the part of American children toward their parents. When this subject came up, students asked me (on more than one occasion) why I had not divorced my parents yet. Many of the students I met were under the impression that the divorce of parents by their children was an everyday occurrence in the United States.

It has long been clear to me that Americans also have deep misconceptions about Arab culture. When I returned to the US in June of 2003, these misconceptions had strengthened and focused to the point (in the post-September 11th environment) that, to many Americans, anything connected to the Arab world had taken on sinister overtones. I often think of one anecdote in particular. When I returned to New York City and started a new job, I began my housing search. I found an affordable room in the house of a middle-aged woman and her young son in upper Manhattan. In the interview, she asked me the usual questions a landlord would ask a prospective tenant: she inquired about my background (including what kind of work I was involved in my last two years in Syria), my ability to pay the bill on time, my level of tidiness, etc. She also brought up how important her son was to her and that she was very careful about the kind of people she allowed in her house. Finally, she stated that she would not allow drinking nor overnight visitors. I agreed to all of her stipulations (I was broke and the rent was well-below market value), but she still seemed nervous. Near tears she told me once again, “my son is my life … you have to understand” and she mentioned she had one more question to ask: “You spoke of how much you enjoyed your two years in Damascus. Are you a member of Al-Quaida?”

I like to think of my Fulbright experience as one that allowed me to reach out to these two communities (Americans and Syrians/Palestinians) and shake up their stereotypes of each other. On the one hand, I spoke to the Syrians and Palestinians I lived with and worked among for almost two years in Damascus about aspects of American culture they knew little about: I told them how close the families were that I knew even if American children generally have a more independent role vis à vis their parents than Syrian children do. On the other hand, I related my positive experience in Syria to the Americans whom I came home to: I spoke of the warmth and hospitality I encountered in Syria and the tolerance (for religious and cultural differences) of the people I met there. Although the former role--reaching out to Syrians--was in some ways what the Fulbright experience is ostensibly all about, I find my most fulfilling role has been as an educator in the United States: sharing my experiences in the Middle East with Americans who have not had the opportunity to travel there themselves.



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