THE PENDULUM
NEWS
WEDNESDAY. MARCH 2. 2011 // PAGE 3
New Middle Eastern studies minor will offer
opportunities for students, the community
PHOTO SUBMITTED
Brian Digre stands with Mohammad, his SUV driver, in the sand dunes of Qatar in 2008.
Marlena Chertock
Design Editor
Sophomore Laura Tucker
has lived in Saudi Arabia
since her family moved there
in 2002 for her father’s job at
a petroleum company. As an
international studies major at
Elon University, Tucker plans
on pursuing her interest in
the region of the Middle East,
But Tucker and other students
don’t yet have the option
to minor in Middle Eastern
Studies at Elon.
“Other than the main
religion courses or broad
global and history courses,
there’s not many really
focused and specific courses
dedicated to Middle Eastern
studies,” Tucker said.
The Middle Eastern studies
minor has been in the w'orks
since 2007. The curriculum
review board is in the process
of evaluating the program,
said professor Brian Digre,
international studies program
coordinator.
“I feel confident that both
programs will be available in
the fall,” Digre said.
Creating a minor
There were several steps
to get to this point. Digre
traveled to Jordan, Israel and
Egypt in the summer of 2008
on a six-week Fulbright-Hays
seminar. The seminar allowed
10 U.S. professors to explore
study abroad opportunities in
the Middle East and enhance
curriculum development at
their universities, Digre said.
Digre also applied for a
grant from the U.S. Department
of Education Undergraduate
International Studies in
Foreign Language Program to
help fund the establishment
of the minor.
Elon provided matching
funds for much of the grant.
which allowed Elon to support
faculty who wanted to develop
new courses in the Middle East,
to enhance library resources
on the Middle East and study
abroad programs and to hire a
full-time Arabic professor.
For two years, the grant
paid more than half of Arabic
professor Shereen Elgamal’s
salary. But now, Elon has made
the position full-time and pays
her salary, Digre said.
The department of foreign
languages is exploring the
introduction of elementary
Hebrew courses for the minor.
Introductory modern
standard Hebrew will be
offered in the fall and
introductory II in the spring,
according to Scott Windham,
department chair of Foreign
Languges. The courses will
be taught by a part-time
professor.
“If enrollments are good,
we will continue to offer more
courses,” Windham said. “At
some point, we might perceive
a need for a permanent
position in Hebrew, although
that process could take many
years.”
Students already showing
interest
Many students in the
international studies major
have already expressed interest
in the region. Several students
have asked for Digre’s approval
of each course individually to
count for the unofficial Middle
Eastern concentration. Tucker
has taken this route.
The Arabic Language
Organization was created
by students as a result of
increasing interest in the
language and region, according
to Elgamal and many students
have expressed interest in
studying abroad in the region,
Digre said.
There are several study
abroad programs in place that
will be related to the minor
or concentration. There is
a program at the American
University of Cairo, Egypt,
Council on International
Education Exchange in Jordan
and the University of Haifa,
Israel that was just offered
this year.
Broadening experiences and
views
The classes will offer
students opportunities to
learn more about cultures and
regions they are not familiar
with and that are not well-
known, Tucker said.
Arab culture and the Middle
East have been stereotyped,
intentionally or not, by people,
governments and the media.
Tucker said.
It will be beneficial for
students to form their own
opinions from truths rather
than statements they hear, she
said.
“You see students living
in Israel, Jordan and Egypt
for a semester and coming
back,” Elgamal said. “These
experiences are very important
to campus. Instead of watching
on television, they come
back with experiences they
encountered, actual people
they interacted with. It’s a
different outlook on things
when you hear things from
someone who was there.”
Tucker would agree. Living
in Saudi Arabia helped shape
her opinions and the way she
views life and people, she
said.
The minor will offer
valuable career opportunities,
according to Digre, as learning
Arabic is important for careers
today.
The outside community
will also learn more about the
region, Digre said.
The minor will bring in
extracurricular activities,
speakers and visiting
professors, according to
Elgamal. The awareness
and knowledge would
automatically spread, she
said.
Theminorismoreimportant
in light of the recent protests
in several Arab countries.
Interdisciplinary coursework
The minor will include courses
in religious studies, political
science, philosophy, history,
literature and art history. Some
courses that will not be included in
the catalog but will count toward
the minor or concentration will be
found under General Studies.
The interdisciplinary nature of
the minor encourages students
to look at an area from different
perspectives and appreciate the
region and the region's diversity,
Digre said.
according to Tucker.
The prevalent and powerful
stereotype of Islam and that
every practicing Muslim is a
terrorist needs to be combated,
she said.
“Knowledge is power,”
Tucker said. “And without
it we’ll go on believing and
continuing whatever we hear.”
TWO Options
The proposed Middle Eastern studies
minor will offer two different options
for students:
• International studies major
concentration in ttw Middle East
International studies majors must
choose a regional concentration,
currently one of four nsgions: Africa,
Asia, Europe and Latin Annerica. The
major requires 44 semester credit
hours to tie completed, study abroad
and foreign language proflcierx^y.
• Middle Eastern studies minor:
The minor, open to all majors, wiU be
20 semester credit hours.
Belk embraces digital age with technological innovations
Cont/nt Ui:
JULIA SAYERS | SUfl Pholographar
Belk Library continues to advance in technology and plans to introduce a text message IM service.
Ashley Fahey
Copy Editor
From the introduction of the Kindles
last semester to the transcription of
library archives to an online format,
Belk Library is beginning to embrace the
digital age.
“Belk Library is looking at several
technology innovations right now, all of
which provide users quick, easy access
to library info and resources,” said Lynne
Bisko, a non-print librarian at Belk. “We
hope that technology will improve the
visitor’s experience and make it easier to
find and use library resources when and
where they’re needed.”
Some of the innovations Belk will
introduce include a mobile website
for the library, a mobile version of the
catalog and increased usage of Quick
Response, or QR codes, Bisko said. QR
codes, according to the Elon University
website, consist of “a matrix barcode,
often referred to as a 2D barcode, that
when read by a smartphone or a cell
phone with a camera, displays data or
goes to a website.”
Bisko said QR codes are currently
being used to allow users to access the
entire DVD database of Belk. They will
expand to post QR codes on copiers.
Pharos printing stations and the DocSend
station.
“In the future, we hope to offer a text
message IM service, and to find additional
uses for QR codes,” Bisko said.
The six Kindles Belk purchased last
semester are being used regularly by
students, faculty and library visitors.
“We think the program has been very
successful,” said Shannon Tennant, a
catalog librarian. “Kindles have been
checked out by faculty, staff, students.
all of the community has been using
them. We have a variety of titles and
genres available to appeal to as many
people as possible.”
Tennant said the Kindles are checked
out constantly and, so far, there have
been no major problems with the rental
program.
“The only problem, which isn’t even
much of one, is that Belk Library has
second generation Kindles, and now that
the third generation Kindle has been
introduced, it is hard to find updates for
the second generation,” Tennant said.
“But what we are looking to do now is
to expand on titles offered on the Belk
Kindles.”
Even archiving at Elon is becoming a
part of the digital world.
“I think for libraries and archives
to remain relevant, online archiving is
important,” said Katie Nash, archivist
and special collections librarian.
“Specifically in the archives community,
making collections available online is
a luxury and necessity all at the same
time."
Nash said Belk Library is using
a program called Content Digital
Management, or ContentDM, which is a
database that stores and makes digital
content accessible and organized in one
place.
“Before ContentDM, we had separate
websites with digital content and
separate library catalog records," Nash
said. “We hope to put all of the Thomas
Jefferson Carret Essays in ContentDM,
as well as embark on a large project to
get the honors theses digitalized and
available in Content DM.”
One of the biggest issues with the
evolution of technology in everyday
society is the fear that print materials.
such as books, will become obsolete
in years to come. But while Belk is
expanding its digital and technological
means, print material will still be
relevant, Bisko said.
“We’ll certainly see fewer purchases
of physical materials, and we’ve noticed
that already in the library,” Bisko said.
“However, many unresolved issues
still exist related to copyright, access,
quality and preservation. Plus, I think
most students and faculty still prefer
printed materials, especially when doing
research.”
The archives will also retain their
original form, as there is a particular
need to see certain archives in person as
opposed to a digital format.
“Sometimes it is necessary to come to
the physical location of where the item
is housed because the digital copy is
not sufficient,” Nash said. “Just because
there is a digital copy online does not
mean that people no longer come to a
physical space of an archive.”
Other advances that Belk Library has
made over the past few years include
blogging, widgets, instant messaging,
podcasts and an increased social media
presence, such as Facebook and Twitter.
Additionally, in the past 10 years,
Tennant said the computer systems have
changed three times.
But a desire to keep up with the times
by developing technology comes with a
cost.
“One of the conflicts we’ve faced is, of
course, money,” Bisko said.
According to her and Tennant, the
university and library’s budgets have
been tightened as a result of the recent
economic conditions.
“Luckily, many of the technological
innovations don’t cost a lot of money
and can end up saving the library a lot of
money in the long run,” Tennant said.