Jordan Times
Tuesday, June 7, 2005
15 US students begin six-week programme at UJ By Mohammad Ghazal
AMMAN — A group of University of Jordan students
on Monday joined 15 of their peers from the University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill (UNC-CH) at the launch of a programme designed to enhance
intercultural understanding.
The six-week programme, held for the first time at the UJ, will include lectures
and seminars on Arab and Islamic history and modern Arab culture.
Each of the visiting students will be assigned a UJ student as a “partner” to
accompany him or her on campus.
The programme, which will be held every summer, provides an opportunity for
visiting American students to interact with their peers and be exposed to the
accurate and true image of Islam, Ahmad Majdoubeh, international relations and
programme director, said yesterday at the launch.
UJ students can also exchange expertise and knowledge with the UNC-CH group and
gain a better understanding of their culture through the programme, Majdoubeh
said, adding that the programme has a two-way street value.
The programme is a continuation of other previous cooperation plans between the
two universities, through which staff and expertise exchanges were implemented
over the past two years, Majdoubeh added.
In addition to the lectures and seminars, visits have been arranged for the
group to several places in the Kingdom including the Parliament, press and media
institutions, and archaeological sites, he added.
In his address at the launch, UJ President Abdul Rahim Hneiti stressed the
university's support for the programme, which paves the ground for purposeful
meetings and dialogue between students.
He also expressed his backing for student exchange programmes, which provide UJ
students with an opportunity to visit several countries, noting that the
university is thinking of expanding such programmes.
The team of US students is accompanied by Edward Curtis, a professor specialised
in Middle East studies from the UNC-CH, who will be delivering lectures on Arab
history and the Islamic civilisation.
“The students will not only read books but also visit historical sites to see
firsthand what they are studying, and this will help them better understand the
history of the Arabs,” Curtis said.
For example, when studying about the Umayyads, they will visit their castles in
the desert, he added.
Moreover, they will be dealing with the Arabs themselves, learning through their
partners about their history, civilisation and religion, Curtis added.
He also highlighted that what distinguishes the Kingdom in the world was
democracy, inter-civilisations dialogue and respect for others opinions and
culture.
Jennifer, a third-year psychology and political sciences student at the UNC-CH
told The Jordan Times that the purpose of her visit was “to get acquainted with
Arab culture and students and this would help a lot, especially since the image
of the Arabs is bad in the US.”
Through this programme, she added, “I will see the image clearly and gain a
better understanding of the Middle East.”
Ghassan Khouri, a first-year student at the UJ medicine faculty, told The Jordan
Times the programme would help him contribute to clarifying the image of the
Arabs, “because what they see through the media is not true and also this would
help me improve my English.”