Monday, May 14, 2012

NEW MINOR IN ARAB STUDIES DEBUTS AT UH

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Distributed by the www.ArabAmericanNewsWire.com



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new minor in arab studies Debuts at UH
Emran El-Badawi Named First Director of Program

HOUSTON, May 14, 2012 – The University of Houston (UH) has launched a new minor in Arab Studies and named Emran El-Badawi as the first director of the Arab Studies Program. Beginning in fall 2012, UH students may declare the minor, which will be housed in the department of Modern and Classical Languages (MCL) within the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences (CLASS).
                “We are very excited about the new Arab Studies minor,” said Hildegard Glass, chair of the MCL department and director of the German program at UH. “The University of Houston has been offering courses in Arabic language and culture for more than a decade, and now we are adding more advanced courses to our Arabic curriculum. While this is an area we wanted to expand for quite some time, we could not do so without the faculty in place to build the program.  With the support of the CLASS Dean, John Roberts, we were able to make a tenure-track appointment in Arabic, the first in the history of this university. With Dr. Emran El-Badawi joining our department as its director, we could move forward with developing the Arab Studies minor.”
The new Arab Studies minor will require 18 credit hours, nine of which must be in Arabic language courses focusing on Modern Standard Arabic and another nine in content courses taught in English. The credit hours taught in English may be selected from a range of courses including “Introduction to Arabic Culture, Language, and Islam”; “Qur’an as Literature”; and “Modern Middle East.”  Since the minor is interdisciplinary three of these credit hours may be in courses offered outside the MCL department. The program is designed to help students develop functional abilities in the four language skills: listening; speaking; reading and writing; and to provide the opportunity for interdisciplinary study of the Arab world and greater Middle East, as well as Islamic civilization.
“UH students want to be part of a meaningful conversation about the Arab world,” said El-Badawi. “The Arab Studies Program is growing at a rapid pace, and I get several inquiries every week from students interested in the minor. Much of the intellectual curiosity is fed by media coverage of widespread political unrest in the wake of the ‘Arab Spring,’ especially political developments in post-revolutionary Tunisia and Egypt. Students want to know what role Islamic and secular forces play in reimaging Arab societies today.”
El-Badawi joined the department of Modern and Classical Language in fall 2011 as assistant professor of Arabic language and literature. Prior to joining the UH faculty, he earned his Ph.D. with distinction from the University of Chicago in the department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations. He received his master’s degree in religion from Temple University and a bachelor’s degree in religion and computer science from Rutgers University.
“Over the last year, Dr. El-Badawi has taken an active role on campus and in the Houston Arab community to promote the Arab Studies Program,” said Glass. “He has delivered guest lectures on the Qur’an to the ‘Human Situation’ course at the Honors College and is working with various cultural organizations, as well as public and private schools in the Houston area to promote the study of the Arabic language and public awareness about the Arab world. The minor in Arab Studies is the first step in building a strong academic curriculum addressing the rich cultural tradition of the Arab world and the contemporary Middle East.”
 “Since students are exposed to a great deal of information – and misinformation – concerning the Arab world and Islam in the media, many students will have questions that can best be answered through the Arab Studies minor,” El-Badawi said.  

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Thursday, May 03, 2012

Lebanon seeks most beautiful Lebanese expatriate at Dearborn pageant

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PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                 Contact: Joumana Kayrouz
THURSDAY MAY 3, 2012                                               1-866-662-9106


 Lebanon seeks most beautiful Lebanese expatriate at Dearborn pageant

Dearborn, Michigan – Lebanon is looking for the most beautiful Lebanese expatriate to represent their culture and country, and Dearborn has been selected to host this year’s US competition.

The American pre-pageant competition, open to Lebanese American women between the ages of 17 and 27, will be held Thursday, May 24 at the Greenfield Banquet Hall, 4770 Greenfield, in Dearborn, Michigan. Applications must be submitted no later than May 10 at www.MissLebanonEmigrants.com.

The winner of the Dearborn beauty pageant will join pre-pageant winners from more than 35 other countries at Castle Assouf in Dhour Shweir, Lebanon on August 11.
Georgina Rizk Lebanon’s first Miss Universe in 1972, and the only Arab to win the contest, will be attending along with Lebanese Minister for Tourism HE Fady Abboud, and other Lebanese and American dignitaries including the founder of AUD (American University of Dubai).

Krystelle Khoury, winner of the 2011 Miss Lebanon Emigrants competition, will also speak about her experiences during the past year before turning over the crown to the 2012 winner in Lebanon. Khoury was recognized as one of the 50 most beautiful women in the world out of hundreds beautiful women who emerged in the Miss Universe, Miss World, Miss Earth, Miss Supranational and Miss International pageants.

“This is an excellent opportunity for young women of Lebanese heritage to proudly represent the Lebanese people in a worldwide beauty contest and to also open a door to great opportunity,” said Joumana Kayrouz, President and owner of the Law Offices of Joumana Kayrouz, P.L.L.C.. Kayrouz was recently appointed President of the Miss Lebanon Emigrants USA Board of Directors by the Lebanese Ministry of Tourism.


“Many of the Miss Lebanon Emigrants USA contestants have gone on to international fame including Rima Fakih who won in 2008 and was named Miss USA at the pageant in 2010.”

Kayrouz said the winner of the USA contest will receive an all-expense-paid 15-day trip to Lebanon to participate in the Miss Lebanon Emigrants 2012 beauty pageant. There are other benefits, too, Kayrouz said including tuition for one semester at one of the American Universities in Beirut, a 3-day vacation cruise and more. The winner of the Miss Lebanon Emigrants 2012 pageant held in Lebanon will receive more than $50,000 in prizes and benefits.

“It is a great chance for young women who are looking to break into a modeling career or maybe even go on to the big screen,” said Kayrouz who noted that there are an estimated 18 million Lebanese expatriates living outside of Lebanon.

Additional benefits include entry into the Miss Supranational Beauty Pageant to be held in Poland and a chance to win  $25,000 in cash; a chance to participate in local and international charity events as well as fashion shows around the world; the chance to appear on selected magazine covers and on television talk shows in the USA and Lebanon, a one year spa membership and hair and makeup services for a full year.

Candidates must be between the ages of 17 and 27 at the time of local pageant May 24, be of Lebanese origin, (one parent must be of Lebanese origin, 2nd and 3rd Lebanese Generations are welcome), be a resident of the US at least six months prior to the pageant competition, and have a high school degree or GED (by June 1).

The contestants must also be able to travel to Lebanon to participate in Miss Lebanon Emigrants 2012 (costs will be covered by the pageant) and must be available to represent the Miss Lebanon Emigrants USA at charity and honoring events all over USA (will be notified at least 15 days prior to appearance dates).
The Miss Lebanon Emigrants 2012 Beauty Pageant is organized with the collaboration of the Lebanese Ministry of Tourism, the Lebanese embassy in the USA, MTV, and the WLCU.

Kayrouz said she expects many contestants to enter the competition. She noted that Fakih left the US Pageant to place third in the Miss Lebanon Emigrants contest held in Batroum, Lebanon in 2009, finishing behind Carina El Kaddissi of Brazil and Jessica Kanawaty of Australia. Fakih won the Miss Michigan USA pageant on September 19, 2009 at the McMorran Place Theater in Port Huron before taking the Miss USA title and becoming the first Miss Michigan USA to win the national title since Kenya Moore in 1993.

“The message is contestants from the United States and Michigan have a good chance to excel and represent the Miss Lebanon Emigrants in the international contest later this year,” Kayrouz said.

For more information visit www.MissLebanonEmigrants.com or visit the groups Facebook Page at www.Facebook/groups/285559908196342.

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