In preparing my unit plan for the final project, I've been doing a lot of research to find resources both that I could use to prepare information to teach to my class, as well as for resources that my students could use to learn about the Middle East on their own.

One website I came across while searching for lesson ideas particularly stood out to me because it includes resources for what seemed like EVERYTHING-- including history, culture, society, religion, economics, maps, politics, news and media, and specific regional resources. Within each category, there are also many sub-categories that I found especially fitting to the things we have discussed throughout our class, such as women in different countries/cultures, literature of different cultures, conflicts amongst the Middle Eastern countries, history and changes of the region, and more.

As someone who, even after almost four months of studying the Middle East and Post-Colonialism, still feels like there is SO much out there for me to learn before I'd be able to *confidently* teach these subjects in my own classroom, I found this website to be extremely helpful. It is easy to follow, and provides a plethora of reliable resources to help educate on the Middle East in its entirety!

So, all that being said, here's the link!: History in the News: The Middle East

Veil Fashion

In searching for additional resources to use for my final project teaching unit, I stumbled across this youtube clip that I thought was very interesting. It is basically a fashion show of veils-- they are "non-muslim" and I assume would not be considered acceptable in many or even most cultures, but nonetheless it was interesting to see this "spin" on the classic veil. With how much the topic of veils have come up in our class discussions, as well as throughout the texts we've read and films we've viewed, I thought it might be kind of a fun thing to post!




The description for this video says, "'Veils'... a selection of head coverings, hair coverings and face coverings by non-Muslim fashion designers for Fall 2009... Many are inspired by traditional cultures and forms, while others are a contemporary take on a timeless concept."

Aside from being a little creeped out by some of the VERY theatrical make-up some of the models had, I am a little perplexed by this whole concept after watching the video clip. Knowing that the purpose of the veil, theoretically, is for the woman to show modesty and not show off her womanly figure. Many of the veils in this fashion show seem to do just the opposite of that! Granted, yes, these veils are not designed to serve the purpose of meeting religious requirements, but it still interesting how the purpose of veil has been basically completely ignored in these designs.

Re-Defining Culture in Iraq

In doing some research for my final project, I came across this article about an art show that took place last November in Baghdad. http://www.cjtf7.army.mil/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=23896&Itemid=225 The theme of this art show was "New Life, New Culture."

Post-colonialism has a great deal to do with the changing cultures and the overall cultural identity of societies such as Baghdad, Iraq. In this case, one of the leaders in Baghdad took it upon himself to organize this "art and culture" show that took place in the Rashid district of Baghdad. In the article, they quoted the leader who organized the event, and he really seemed to have a passion for this idea of cultural identity, and how he could impact both the way citizens of Baghdad view their own culture, as well as how outsiders view the city and culture. He said, "Southern Baghdad is not thought to be supportive of the arts. Southern Baghdad has a reputation for violence, but this show will change that perception. This show will introduce a new way for the people of Iraq to live." Another Iraqi leader, Lt. Col. Timothy Watson said, "This event constitutes an important contribution to redefining the way the world perceives Iraq. It is about creating a new cultural identity beyond that of violence and war. It is about instilling pride in the Iraqi people for their won rich cultural heritage."

Anyway, just thought this was an interesting article. It was cool to hear about an example about how one city has been working to redefine and build themselves culturally, both for their own sake and for the purpose of showing other societies throughout the world that their culture is about more than just what we see on TV and in the newspaper-- the violence, war, and discourse that is so often put on display.

"Iran: Yesterday and Today"

I really enjoyed watching Rick Steve's documentary, "Iran: Yesterday and Today." I think there is so much to discover about any given country or culture, and without having the opportunity to actually travel there and see and experience it yourself, it's usually pretty hard to fully grasp what it is like. This documentary on Iran, however, gave me a really good look into the culture, atmosphere, history, and landscape of the country, and I really learned a lot about a country I previously knew very little about.

A few things really stood out to me as I watched:

• In Tehran, there were intersections without any traffic signals. Imagine-- no stop signs or stop lights or yeild signs... just free for all! It looked like a crazy, jumbled mess of cars to me, but I guess it works for them!
• Subway moves over ONE MILLION people per day!
• They have motorcycle taxis-- how cool!... but scary too!
• At the University of Iran, both men and women are allowed to attend, but everything is segregated-- right down to having a separate men's cafe and women's cafe.
• In Abyaneh, they have "boy" and "girl" door knockers on each door, so the resident knows whether to expect a male or female when they answer the door.
• The architecture and landscape of these Iranian cities was INCREDIBLE, and I was particularly impressed with the mosks in Esfahan. I would LOVE to go check these out some day!

Aside from those interesting facts and observations, the biggest thing that I payed attention to throughout the documentary was how the Iranian people viewed America, America's government, and America's people.

First, I was not surprised to learn that most people in the country are bilingual, speak English, and are well informed about the West. As far as I know, it seems like most cultures are far more "worldly" than we are here in America, and Iran seems to be no exception to this.

Within the first ten or so minutes of the documentary, Rick Steve mentioned that the Iranian people "loved Americans." Frankly, I was a little surprised to hear this and found myself quite skeptical of the comment, wondering if perhaps that was a biased statement or if there was some selective film editing to show mostly positive opinions about the U.S. The documentary continued on, and proceeded to show murals throughout Tehran saying things like "Down with the USA" or showing images that depicted the United States as some evil, unwanted force. Yet despite the substantial number of negative images seen on the murals, most of the people Rick Steve interviewed seemed to have mostly positive things to say about America. One woman seemed to put it into perspective quite nicely, saying, "Government has a lot of war with each other, because they have benefits. But there is no war between people."