University of Balamand

Faculty Member, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

Assistant Professor

About

I am an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at the University of Balamand in north Lebanon. I currently teach and coordinate the foundational course CVSQ 201 (Early Formation of Civilizations) within the Civilizations Sequence Program. From Gilgamesh to Socrates, Medea to Lucretia, I guide the students to explore the cultures of Ancient History, drawing connections to their lives in north Lebanon.

I am continuing my research on American Protestant missionaries in Ottoman Syria during the early to mid-nineteenth century and the development of a Protestant community. My research focuses on the way that women, both American and Syrian, performed, negotiated and subverted their gendered identities. One of my current projects looks at the construction of the American identity in Ottoman Syria through exploring the history of the Anglo-American cemetery in Beirut, which is the eternal resting place for many Syrian Protestants and American missionaries. As a result, I have spent many of my recent weekends wondering around and photographing grave stones!

Another project includes recording Oral Histories of the region. I am working with my students for part of this project, having them interview their relatives and neighbors, in an effort for the students to learn about their own culture and past. I recently attended the Zambo Festival in Mina, which is the unique celebration of this port city to mark the start of the Lenten Fast. As you can see from my photo, I, like many of the spectators, were included in the celebrations!

I am more generally interested in the ways that American women engage with Arab women, both tangibly and discursively, in order to define their own identity. This includes both historical and present day interactions.

Other interests include the Social History of the United States and the Middle East, different interpretations of Feminism (including religious interpretations of Feminism) and the history of women and formal education.

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