الأربعاء، 5 يوليو 2023

Reaching out to hearts

 



Reaching out to hearts

 

 

By Dr Laila Abdel Aal Alghalban

Professor of linguistics

Faculty of Arts

Kafrelsheikh University

 

 

 Last Ramadan, I was invited to a cultural event honoring a key intellectual icon in my home city. Few people, most of them had received an invitation like me, were dotted around in the big, elegant theatre at the center of a newly-constructed building, downtown. Paradoxically, the streets were overflowing with people, most of them shoppers . Since then, a host of questions have kept buzzing in my head. I wonder whom do cultural and art centers address? How can they reach out to the audience segments who never make it to such events? And how can they become more in tune with the challenges we face as a community?

 

 Maintaining diversity is the key

 

Recently, I have come across many news stories on the growing need for arts and cultural centers and institutions, official and unofficial, to build more bridges to further population segments. "I think it is important to present shows that they can identify with and that they can see themselves represented onstage," BBC quoted  the director of Arts Center in Bangor, Wales, as saying . "So the important thing is diversity, talking about diversity and communicating diversity in the right way." I thought to myself " Maybe things are not okay there, either".  Problems seem to be far beyond financial shortages, the ghost we always blame.  Rather, they have to do with working in a brutally challenging environment. It becomes so difficult to stick to the old tricks and policies which no longer fit in a world brimmed with diversity, where everyone is  eager to be in the picture and have a say to be heard and respected.

 

  Furnishing minds and hearts

 

Culture is in everything in us and around us. It is the way we view the world and act accordingly. Imagine life without a sense of belonging to a community, a set of ideas and values to embrace with fellows, or a common history and future to share with loved ones. The very main tasks of local and national arts and cultural organizations are: to nurture all aspects of culture which shape our identities, foster and educate arts, furnish minds and hearts, raise awareness, promote tolerance and peace, offer a safe haven to endangered crafts and craftsmen and constitute  a key part of everyone's interest and hobbies.

 

The vacuum left

 

The vacuum left by the institutions in the cultural arena is usually filled by extremism, ignorance, violence as well as "eccentric", non-mainstream ideologies. This definitely summons a global fight in all possible ways, including offering good education fighting poverty, inequality and unemployment, as well as creating hope and opportunities.   

 

Failing the test of time

 

Unfortunately, the current, rustic approach most cultural  and art centers adopt, which has been inherited from past generations, fails the test of time and reflects the deep abyss between the public at large and such organizations, which commonly  target a thin layer of the society, namely the elite, and give priority to elitist arts.

 

How can cultural and arts institutions rise to the challenge? 

 

Rising to the challenge may mean that cultural institutions have to deeply revise their  operations and vision  so as to address the needs of a society that is culturally more  diverse than ever and bring about the necessary changes in 

the existing system.






 

Engaging Diverse Audiences: Try this!

 

To this end, let us have a look at a summary of a report entitled An introduction to Engaging Diverse Audiences, in which professionals in local and national arts and cultural organizations are urged to try the following procedures to reach out to a wide range of citizens. One is "establishing a foundation" by formulating a clear, inclusive vision, a mission and an action plan. All staff should participate in formulating them, giving priority to equity of  representation to all segments of society. Officials must provide true leadership and creative solutions to the problems ahead. The second step is "assessing your current audience." Data about the audience, their interests as well as  their social , educational and occupational backgrounds must be available directly and indirectly. This is meant to know how the audience see cultural organizations' activities and programmes and whether they are really resonating with their lives. It is super important to know where you are before proceeding any further. The third procedure, according to the report, is  "defining audience segments", with a view of targeting some marginalized ones such as people with disabilities and low-income families. "Determining programming and events" is the fourth procedure. It aims to test the waters and identify the most appealing work to audience. Furthermore, cultural and arts organizations must seek out and embrace ways to connect to audience and share them their local and national events. A YouTube channel, for instance,  posting videos about the rehearsals of upcoming events makes the fans connect with artists and organizations alike  on a deeper and  more profound level. The fifth procedure is " developing a marketing and communications plan". It is about how to sell the programmes and make the necessary publicity utilizing all forms of advertising: flyers, posters, banners, social media, etc. The final procedure  is "evaluating progress". Cultural and arts organizations need to make sure that they managed to hit the target. If the number of audience increases, this is an indication that a progress is being made. If not, amendments to the plan become mandatory. One is to hold focus group sessions, inviting some community members  to hear from them about what went wrong and their suggestions to save the day.

 

 

No culture is flawless

 

Finally,  it is so urgent to redefine what is meant by cultural components and re-set cultural agenda to embrace  all activities of a given community. Opera, drama, concerts,  exhibitions, and other forms of fine arts  should be supplemented by all arts appealing to all population at large. Equally important is a deep and serious study of our culture's drawbacks  as no culture is flawless.  This would be the topic of further articles, God willing.

 

 

 

 

الثلاثاء، 20 سبتمبر 2022

ما أحلي الرجوع إليها

 ما أحلي الرجوع إليها..



يوميات الأخبار
بقلم د ليلى الغلبان
رئيس قسم اللغة الإنجليزية بآداب كفر الشيخ
حتة طباشير
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ها قد جاء اليوم المنتظر، ظللت أراوغه لسنوات، أحب أن أترك الأشياء على ما كانت عليه.. الماضي له وهج خاص وكل مفرداته أعتبرها كنوزا شخصية شهدت فصولا من حياتي، صاحبتني وصاحبتها.. وكانت جزءا لا يتجزأ مني ومن صورتي في أذهان من يعرفني..ممنوع الاقتراب..دعي الأشياء كما هي..
قلت في نفسي حين وجدت نفسي أمام هذا الجزء من خزانة الملابس، حيث تسكن عينة من ملابسي القديمة التي كنت أرتديها منذ سنوات، الحلل التونيكات، التيورات، البلوزات، الجواكت، وغيرها. وقفت لبرهة وقد تملكني شعور بالتهيب من لمس أو فحص بعضها، كمن يتهيب من فتح حقيبة مليئة بالأسرار. أدركت منذ زمن بعيد أن أهمية الأشياء لا تكمن في قيمتها المادية، ولكن في كونها بمثابة آلة الزمن، ذاكرة الجسد والروح والأيام تتكلم عنك، تعود بك إلى ذكريات الأمس.. استجمعت بعض طاقتي ومددت يدي تلمس الأشياء.. اندست أصابعي تستعرض بخفة وسكينة .. ترى هل يمكن أن أرتدي بعضا منها مرة أخرى؟ ..لا أظن.. بعدما امتدت يد الزمن وزيادة الوزن لتجعل حلم ارتدائها مستحيلا.. تركت يدي وعيني يتجولان ..دسست أصابعي أكثر لأجد في أحد الجيوب حتة طباشير..ياااااه
علا وجهي ابتسامة وغمرني حنين وتداعت ذكريات الماضي..في مهنة التدريس..الطباشير اختفى من المدرجات ..الأقلام والداتا شو وغيرها حلت محله.. ولكن حتة الطباشير لها عبق خاص ..ظللت أتفحصها.. أحركها بين أناملي.. هممت أن ألقى بها في سلة المهملات..ولكن تريثت.. خشيت أن أضيع مفتاحا من مفاتيح الذاكرة وآلة للزمن.. و في هدوء أعدتها إلى الجيب، لتسكن فيه وتسكن معها ذكريات غالية ..

موعد مع..
تولد بعد يومين من وفاة أبيها، تمضي حياتها بدونه .. تشب وتكبر... لم تره ولم تجد من يذكرها به سوى أوراقه ومايرويه الناس عنه. وتمضي السنون وتكون على موعد مع مفاجأة غيرت علاقتها به إلى الأبد؛ إنها الأيرلندية أنجيلين، فقد أرسل إليها أحد الأصدقاء رابطا لهيئة الإذاعة البريطانية بي بي سي القسم الأيرلندي كان يبث مقاطع صغيرة من تسجيلات في أرشيفهم للهجات في أيرلندا وكان مقطع منها بصوت أبيها الذي توفي منذ أكثر من أربعين عاما. ونوهت الإذاعة إلى أن مثل هذا الأرشيف الصوتي قد تم إيداعه في متحف في أيرلندا وبإمكان من يرغب الاستماع إلى التسجيلات كاملة مراسلة المتحف. تلقفت أنجيلين نسخة من تسجيلات والدها وكانت لها بمثابة كنز لا يقدر بثمن.
أرخت السمع لصوته وبدأت تتسلل إليها مشاعر لم تعهدها من قبل، فعجائب الصوت البشري وما يولّده داخلنا من صور و عوالم وأصوات وألوان شكلت المداد والفرشاة والألوان لرسم صورته الجديدة في مخيلتها وتبدأ صفحة جديدة من علاقتها به.
فشكرا لمتحف الكلام الأيرلندي وغيره من متاحف وأرشيفات الكلام في العديد من دول العالم على تلك الهدايا النادرة العزيزة ليست فقط لأنجلين وأمثالها، ولكنها للمجتمع ولغته وثقافته وتاريخه الشفوي .. هل يمكن أن يكون هناك متحف مماثل للكلام المصري؟ نأمل في ذلك، ومن يدري عزيزي القارئ فقد يكون أحفادنا وأحفاد أحفادنا على موعد مع أصواتنا وكلامنا ليعود بهم مثل عجلة الزمن إلى عقود وربما قرون خلت، إلى زماننا هذا ولغتنا هذه وحياتنا هذه وليرسم صورا من دم ولحم لنا ولعالمنا.

متحف الطهي المصري..

أذكر كيف كانت والدتي رحمة الله تعالى عليها تضيف البامية الجافة إلى الحبوب أثناء الطحين كي تعزز طعم الخبز الطيب .. وكيف كانت تصنع شعرية يدوية أو باستا بلغة هذه الأيام تفوق الإسباجتي في الطعم. كما كانت تؤجر آلة ضخمة من الحديد تسمى دولاب الشعرية لعمل خزين البيت منها، كان خزين الشعرية يمثل جزءا مهما من معاش البيت مثل خزين الأرز والقمح والذرة.. تقوم بتجفيفها تحت أشعة الشمس ثم في الفرن؛ كي تحفظ الحزين من السوس لاستخدامه من العام إلى العام ..وكانت ربات البيوت يتسابقن في استئجار هذا الدولاب في موسم صنع الشعرية بعد حصاد القمح مباشرة. هذا الطقس اختفى من البيوت مثله مثل العديد من الوصفات والأكلات.. ولم يجد من يوثقه أو يحتفظ بأحد هذه الدواليب قبل اختفائها..
أتذكر أيضا طرق عجن الدقيق وما تتطلبه من جهد كبير في "طب" ولت العجين برفعه إلى أعلى وفرده داخل الإناء بطريقة تجعل الهواء يتخلله. كما لا ننسى الأدعية والذكر المصاحب لعملية العجين والخبز والتخزين ..
تذكرت ذلك أثناء مطالعتي لخبر فريد من نوعه. يقول الخبر إن السلطات الإيطالية قررت إنشاء متحف للمطبخ الإيطالي يوثق وصفات الطهي وأدوات المطبخ عبر العصور.. ويهدف لإحياء الأطباق التاريخية، مثل أول وصفة على الإطلاق لصلصة الطماطم الإيطالية، من أواخر القرن السابع عشر.
أعجبتني فكرة إنشاء متحف للطهي وفوجئت أثناء بحثي على الإنترنت أن المتحف الإيطالي ليس الأول من نوعه، إذ سبقت إليه بلدان أخرى لديها ولع بتراثها في الطهي وتناول الطعام. منها تركيا والتي يمثل المطبخ التركي واحدا من عوامل الجذب السياحي المهمة وأيضا لمحبي الطبخ حول العالم.. وهناك عدد من متاحف الطهي في تركيا..في إسطنبول وغازي عنتاب وأنطاكية كما يقدم المتحف التركي دورات للطهي التقليدى..

المطبخ الفرنسي كان أيضا له نصيب.. حيث أقيم متحف الطهي الفرنسي في مدينة ليون منذ عدة سنوات ضم قوائم طعام ووصفات وأفلاما، فضلًا عن معروضات تفاعلية يمكن من خلالها أن يعرف الزوار المزيد عن أطباق الطعام حول العالم.

وفي العام الماضي ثم افتتاح متحف الطهي الكوري في مدينة أنصونغ بمقاطعة كيونغ كي بغية مساعدة الحالمين بالعمل في مجال الطهي. كما يقوم المتحف بتسجيل إنجازات الطهاة الذين ساهموا في تقدم صناعة الطهي في البلاد.

وفي متحف الشوكولاتة في كولونيا في ألمانيا تأخذك العروض باللغتين الإنجليزية والألمانية في رحلة إنتاج الشوكولاتة بدءا بأشجار الكاكاو الحية وصولا إلى إنتاج الشوكولاتة.

ومن متاحف الطعام الشهيرة أيضا متحف المكرونة"النودلز" الياباني حيث يوثق مراحل تطورها، ويُعطى المتحف فرصة لزائريه بتجربة طهى المكرونة بأنفسهم والحصول عليها في نهاية جولتهم.

وتتيح عادات الطهي في أى مجتمع لنا فرصة لقراءة تاريخه وتفصح لنا عن الكثير من العادات وطرق التفكير والظروف الاقتصادية والسياسية وعلاقة الإنسان بالبيئة والكائنات في زمن ومكان ما.
وعادات الطهي والأكلات المصرية بما لها من عراقة وتنوع وتناغم مع البيئة وخصوصية تستحق أن تجد لها متحفا يروي للأجيال كيف عاش المصريون عبر السنين ..

الاستعمار طوعا..

في محاولة لوقف الهجرة إلى أوروبا، وتغافلا للجراح والندوب التي خلفها الاستعمار الأوربي، واتساقا مع السياسات المضللة والقاسية والعنصرية للدول الأوربية التي تحاول غسل أيديها من ماضيها الاستعماري وما خلفه من كوارث إنسانية والتملص من مسؤوليتها تجاه اللاجئين وطالبي اللجوء، تفتق ذهن المفوض الألماني للشؤون الأفريقية جونتر نوكي عن حل أثار جدلا واسعا مؤخرا. الحل المقترح ينطوي على وجوب قيام الاتحاد الأوروبي، أو هيئة مثل البنك الدولي، ببناء وإدارة مدن في أفريقيا من أجل تعزيز خلق فرص العمل والتنمية في القارة مما سيحسن حياة المواطنين وتوفير صحة وتعليم أفضل وستقدم نموذجا للحكم الفعال وتوفر نوعية حياة جيدة، مما يمنع الناس من الهجرة.

وقال السيد نوكي إن هذا سيعني أن الدول الأفريقية ستسمح بتأجير جزء من أراضيها لهيئة أجنبية للسماح بالتنمية الحرة لمدة 50 عاما، وأن المدن ستعمل بموجب مجموعة من القوانين المنفصلة عن البلد المضيف.

البعض رفض الفكرة معللا أن رائحة الاستعمار تفوح منها، فيما تحمس البعض لها، واصفين إياها بأنها محاولة حقيقية لضمان استفادة الأفارقة ودول العالم الثالث من تجربة مفيدة.

معارضو الفكرة يرون أيضا أن المناطق الاقتصادية الخاصة لن تفيد سوى الأغنياء، وستخلق مجتمعات مسورة مغلقة علي أهلها تعيش في ظل قواعد منفصلة عن بقية البلاد.

إن الاستعمار القديم بوجهه السافر المتمثل فى غزو البلاد واستغلال ثرواتها لم ولن ينتهي، وهناك أيضا الاستعمار الجديد وقد اتخذ أشكالا ناعمة للفتك بالدول وبمقدراتها مثل العولمة واتفاقيات التجارة العالمية والانترنت ووسائل الإعلام والتواصل الاجتماعي والنزعة الاستهلاكية وغيرها..
والسؤال الآن لماذا تصر الدول الكبرى على اللعب بنفس الأوراق القديمة، وتصر بعض الدول على الوقوع فى ذات الفخ ويفتحون الأبواب للاستعمار طوعا بدلا من البحث عن حلول وطنية توائم المجتمعات وتجد فيها حاضنة تذود عنها ؟!!

الثلاثاء، 2 مارس 2021

In search of the author

 In search of the author






By Dr Laila Abdel Aal Alghalban
Professor of linguistics
Faculty of Arts
Kafrelsheikh University
Artificial intelligence (AI) technology is storming us with mind-boggling stories around the clock. Although I am not a technology nerd, l am always gripped by AI news. Indeed, AI has changed a lot of things in our lives, including the way we represent, discover, learn, process, use, analyse and even invest in our language. Within the fast-evolving field of digital humanities, the special interest and passion AI specialists have for the study of language is fuelled by the fact that language and cognition, in general, are key assets of human intelligence. It is no wonder, then, that AI, which is a simulation of human intelligence, places emphasis on language and teaches the machine to develop human-level natural language capabilities. For example, text generators are "trained" on a dataset of millions of web pages, and are able to "learn" how to generate new texts, abiding by the instructions or parameters of form and content fed to them by program developers. Furthermore, algorithms -computer mathematical formulae - are increasingly used: from simple things like sending an email where natural language processing system helps us check grammar, spelling, and filter spam, to Google search in which AI algorithms scan the web and start crafting personalized ads on products and services we might favor, to voice assistants, streaming services, using your past history to deliver suggestions for what you might want to read, watch and buy, to machine translation, and text-to-voice convertors, to machine-generated journalism and deep writing (to cite only a few); all are AI-powered. This week I came across an incredible story, at least to me.
Wasn't Shakespeare Shakespeare?
The story is about literary historians' conclusion that Christopher Marlowe was the co-author of Shakespeare's Henry VI; their conclusion is based on using computer-assisted parsing and textual analysis. That happened in 2016. But, for me, and possibly for many readers and Shakespeare's lovers worldwide, the news is shocking. It casts doubt on the marvelous works penned by the most celebrated bard and the biggest literary icon in human history. I kept tracing the issue and found out that doubts over whether Shakespeare really wrote his poetry and drama have spread around the academic circles and among literary historians since 1856. Before that, his authorship had never been questioned. Shakespeare authorship studies have singled out a lot of candidates including Francis Bacon, the Elizabethan diplomat Sir Henry Neville, the 17th Earl of Oxford Edward de Vere and Christopher Marlowe, the most popular candidates among his contemporaries, as the real authors of William Shakespeare's plays. Some have gone too far, proposing that Shakespeare was a fictional character, a pseudonym under which many talented and adventurous people wrote. Others wonder: Could he be an alien?!!
Fakespeare theory
Conspiracy theory advocates, including actors, critics and literary historians, claim that the themes, wisdom, lure, description of "the plays attributed to Shakespeare could only have been written by someone deeply familiar with court life, Elizabethan politics, Italy and France." Shakespeare's family background, the fact that he had been raised by a butcher, his father, and in the faraway Stratford-upon-Avon, his home, have ignited doubts over his authorship and served as the main grounds on which many doubters have built their arguments; "it was impossible for Shakespeare to have written all the plays because of his family background, and lack of opportunities," Richard Malim, general secretary of The De Vere Society, told BBC News Online. Lately, computation linguists and neuroscientists join the heated controversy, with focus being shifted from literature to algorisms, big data, statistics, natural language processing and machine learning. Welcome to the age of digital humanities! As a linguist, the story has left me chimed with more enthusiasm and passion for AI, though I still have some legitimate fears that the data, instructions and parameters of form and content used to feed algorithms might be biased towards or against Shakespeare or any one on the suspect list. At the end of the day, AI is a tool; it could be misleadingly used.
Author identification
To determine authorship, it was common to attribute works to authors based on the handwriting. With the advent of the internet, the need for authorship identification has become more stressful than ever. At the outset, some procedural preparations must be made, including data preparation, baseline performance observation, error analysis and data optimization. This is followed by administering the analysis to predict the author.
One computer-assisted textual analysis is called stylometric analysis. It is a sort of statistical stylistic analysis, utilizing linguistic features to identify authors. The idea is that writers, over their writing career, develop unconscious habits of using language: vocabulary, sentence structures, themes, punctuation, organization, etc. In other words, they develop idiosyncratic features and styles. Here are some of such features employed in stylometry to compare works and identify authors:
One is n-grams of texts. N-grams are sequences of n words in a corpus or collection of texts. Try Google n-gram viewer and search for the frequency of a word, a phrase, a collocate or a sequence of words over the last two centuries, N- grams will wow you with graphs illustrating the popularity rate and trajectory of the target word or structure. N-gram characters can help with topics. Function words such as 'the' and 'and' are key characters in determining style. Every writer has their own way of using parts of speech (POS), including the way words are used together, which is called bigrams and trigrams.
Another tool is Phraseology analysis; it investigates lexical diversity in the data, and "refers to the ratio of total number of words to the number of different unique word stems." Figurative language density is another parameter learned to algorisms; it is measured by comparing the ratio of figurative expressions, whose meaning is not compatible with the dictionary meaning, to the overall number of words in the data. Punctuation features also count in authorship investigation. Lexical usage analysis is a further principle taught to the machine, with special emphasis on the usage of certain words. The number of linguistic and stylistic variables that could be analysed is 'infinite'. The computed variables could cover a wide range of phonological, syntactic, semantic and lexical aspects of the investigated set of data. It is an exciting, yet complicated process, and it would be impossible to cover all of them.
For me, even if it turns out that the Shakespearean magic legacy is not his, I will continue to celebrate ' its unknown authors' regardless of who they are. My aha moments that I experience when reading Shakespeare will live on. Finally, Ronald Barthes' masterpiece 'The Death of the Author' might sound a sort of consolation to those who would not be able to cope with a different reality.

الجمعة، 13 نوفمبر 2020

Revitalizing the literary canon

 Revitalizing the literary canon 


This is a guest post worth sharing by a dear friend and colleague.  Enjoy

By Dr Laila Abdel Aal Alghalban

Professor of linguistics

Faculty of Arts

Kafrelsheikh University


 

Last week, I was invited by the Department of English Language and Literature, Damietta University to give a talk there. I was amazed by the warm and generous reception as well as the wonderful audience. However, it was the following question raised by an undergraduate student that has stunned me most and kept resounding in my head. "You said that literature is language at its best, but why should we be taught classic literature, with 'difficult and strange' language?," he asked. " We need to study contemporary literature from which we can learn easily." The question has raised a bunch of urgent questions. What are literary canons? Who set the standards that evaluate works of arts? Does classic literature still relate to present-day students who are being mercilessly bombarded by globalization and cultural cannibalism? 


Reading in youth


Italo Calvino, the Italian writer and novelist, argues that "reading in youth can be rather unfruitful, owing to impatience, distraction, inexperience with the product’s “instructions for use,” and inexperience in life itself."  It pops up in my head now what the renowned Egyptian writer Anis Mansour said when he refused to give permission to the Ministry of Education to assign some of his books to school children:" I don't want children to hate me."   


What are classics and what is the literary canon? 


What if we removed classic literature from the syllabi of academic courses of the university English Departments? Would learning and teaching English (as a second or foreign language) be better? The status of classic literature in educational programs has been deeply established; it enjoys a long history of fervor and appreciation. Classic works of art have special halo, radiation and magic; they sparkle special infatuation even among people who have never read any of them. Most classics are more talked about than read, as Italo Calvino states. In every age, there are always those volunteers with acute classics mania symptoms. A classic work of art, according to the Oxford Dictionary, is the one with " recognized and established value”, and is "memorable and a very good example of its style”. Classics are fundamental works with a lasting and luring artistic value that never fails the test of time. Sometimes, works of art are not regarded classics during the lifespan of their authors and their contemporary audiences. They retain their status as long as they continue to be in circulation and pass the tests of criticism. Such works constitute "the canon", "a collection of the most representative and revolutionary works of the Western world, a Hall of Fame for those whose works have remained in circulation for a long time," writes Simon Petersson, who argues that the canon usually embraces the works of the wealthy, the powerful and the elite. The literary canon echoes the central Western view and excludes the minority and disadvantaged voices. Literary critics usually have the power to assign the status of 'classic' to a particular work of art. They set the rules, the standards of the time.  Critics form what is called "the interpreting community" whose members are the gate keepers and the ones who orchestrate the way readers by large receive a given work of art.


Small pool, undiversified canon


Teaching classics or literature of any era or genre is determined by the nature and the purpose of the academic course. However, it is commonly up to teachers to pick material for their classes; most of them opt for classics driven by their artistic and literary reputation. Unfortunately, classics are usually drawn from a small pool, an undiversified, fossilised canon. Specific works by Shakespeare, Shaw, Ibsen, Orwell, Austin, Dickens and the Brontë Sisters have been a staple of literature classes for centuries, with slight changes over the years. Unfortunately, teachers depict classics from the same perspective of previous generations of teachers and give the same tests from so many decades ago. This is their teaching comfort zone. Eventually, they break up with present-day world and the changing learning needs and priorities of today's students. 


As students are wrestling with unprecedented distractions, typical of a thunderously changing world, the age of postmodernism, post-humanism, globalization and cultural cannibalism, with no central values or standards to follow or abide by, it has become mandatory for them to reset their learning and training priorities to cope with a highly competitive world, armed with special skills in artificial intelligence technology and modern languages.  


Why teaching classics?


The paramount significance of teaching classics lies in: teaching universal values and virtues that humanity has long fought for; and capturing the essence of human experience as classics depict universal and timeless themes that tear the fabric of place and time. Classic literature ignites imagination and creativity. Classics are monuments, time machines through which we travel to ancient, exotic worlds to experience their peoples' original versions of reality, walk their earth, live their cultures, taste them and bear witness their glories, weaknesses and setbacks. According to Italo Calvino, "A classic is a book that has never finished saying what it has to say."


Modernizing reading lists


 Reading classics is definitely important for language learning, they encapsulate culture, history, values, and the intellectual storehouse of a certain era in the history and civilization of a given people. Reading classics enriches vocabulary and nurtures a linguistic sensitivity much needed for deepening linguistic repertoire. To satisfy aspirations for modernized reading lists, students could be given the right to choose from a wider pool, and a vaster and more diverse canon that echoes  the multiple literary voices that reflect the new demographics of the English speaking world, especially in the inner circle which includes the US, the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Multicultural literature, which tackles issues swaying present-day lives such as colour, social injustice, minorities, immigration and racism,  should find its way to the canon. 


Pleasure and learning 

 

Finally, teaching and testing sometimes kill the beauty and magic of classics. The mechanical, dry approach of cutting the work of art into pieces and dismantling its unity into characters, themes, techniques and plot would undermine its magical entertainment, captivating life lessons and wisdom, and illuminating light bulbs that might lit in readers' heads, turning ugliness into everlasting beauty. Let us review literature pedagogy to help students experience raw reading and never miss its pleasure. Let me end with this quote by Margret Atwood. She says: "I read for pleasure and that is the moment I learn the most." Never worship fixed classics and never throw them out of the window! Strike a balance!

الخميس، 16 يناير 2020

2020: Year of the Self


This piece was published in The Egyptian Gazette on January 16th, 2020


Image result for 2020 year of the self



On New Year ’s Eve, I and one of my best friends discussed our resolutions for the year. She laughingly said: “I have a single resolution this year:  I will dedicate this year to myself.”
This was a bit of a surprise to me; my friend is one of the most caring and giving persons; she is always preoccupied with the well-being of everyone to the point that she sometimes forgets about her own.
The conversation inspired a new idea in me:  what if everyone made 2020 year of the SELF? Self-discipline, self-awareness, self-respect, self-development… And above all, self-love?  Will such a resolution to commit to the Self lead to a better world?  Or to unlimited struggle and conflict?  Questions kept rattling in my head for the first week of the year. On the 10th of January, it suddenly dawned on me that making 2020 year of the SELF is an idea worth trying. 
Here are the reasons why:
Because a BETTER YOU is better for everyone around you, especially those you love. A better you is better for this world. It’s all about you. YOUR-SELF. Creating your BEST SELF. How you show up each and every day MATTERS. It matters to you, and how good you feel, but it also matters to everyone and everything connected to you… which is the entire planet. Your energy affects everything.
The overall effect of how you live your life flows throughout this world in ways so powerful you might not believe. The immediate effect of you living your greatest life, and setting the best example has a huge impact and flow on those you love.
Visualize yourself every day:  you wake up healthy, happy, prosperous, and you love your life.  Your cup is full and ready to overflow on those around you.  Your family and friends are BETTER when you are better.  If you are at your happiest, your most positive, your healthiest, your wealthiest – that example and that energy will be seen by those you love and will lift them up.
If you are sad, miserable, angry, negative, in poor health and broke – do you think that will have a positive effect on those around you?
The general effect of who you actually are, what you do and how you feel reaches out like a tree branch and touches so many people.  They then, consciously or unconsciously spread that example to others. A happy mother will make her family happy, a happy teacher will spread joy in her class, a happy manager will get the best work possible from his consequently happy employees and list keeps going on and on.
You being at your BEST has more of an impact on this world than you can ever know.
Your duty this year is YOUR-SELF.  CREATING YOUR GREATEST SELF is the best way to change this world for generations to come.  Shine the light for others to follow. Show the world how amazing life can be when you master YOUR-SELF.
Self-discipline
Show everyone you love what life looks like when you have self-discipline:  you are willing to delay gratification on meaningless things that may be pleasurable or easy now, but lead to a lesser quality life later. You show the discipline to sacrifice trivial stuff, for a greater life, a greater WORLD later. An example of this might be something that tastes good in the moment, but poisons your body, dilutes your energy and therefore affects your quality of life in the future.
Self-awareness
Show the world how amazing life can be when you have self-awareness. The awareness to follow your intuition and gut feeling. The awareness to take responsibility for everything in your life, and consciously choose the best path fearlessly. The self-awareness to take moments to yourself, in quiet and TRUST your inner guidance to make the changes you need to make in your life. To KNOW what is right for you and act on it no matter how others think about it.
Self-respect
Self-respect  keeps you alert to Exclude anything that does not suit you from your life. It is never to let anything in your body, mind or spirit that you wouldnt want for a loved one.  Self-respect is accepting things in your body, mind, and spirit that enhance your life, not drain the quality of it. It gives the power to say NO out loud to toxic people, toxic circumstances, toxic words, foods and drinks that will not nourish you and all that does not suit you.
Self-development
Show the world how amazing your life can be when you dedicate yourself to self-development in all areas of your life. EVERY SINGLE DAY do things to make you a better version of yourself:  read a good book or article , learn a new skill, listen to things that uplift you and apply everything you learn.  Take small steps every day, knowing that when you keep growing and moving forward… eventually you will look back with PRIDE in amazement at how far you have come.
Self-Love
Show the world how magical life can be when you can look in the mirror and genuinely love the person staring back at you. When you can look in the mirror with PRIDE. With zero sense of comparison with another, just love and appreciation… knowing how far you’ve come and feeling blessed to be alive and to have the opportunity to set an example THIS DAY.
A final word
Don’t take your old-self just as it is from last year into this year. LEARN the lessons and focus on creating this new self. Set a new standard for your life and commit to making this year your best year yet! Create a daily plan to work on YOUR-SELF. Lock in SELF-time every single morning and make it the most important time of your day. NO ONE can take this time from you. No appointments. No work. No social media. Nothing. This is your time, and it is absolutely more important than anything.  It’s time to step into a new YOU.  A new SELF and its not just for YOU. Its for the entire world.


الثلاثاء، 7 يناير 2020

Reaching out to hearts

Reaching out to hearts





By Dr Laila Abdel Aal Alghalban
Chairperson of the Department of English
Professor of linguistics
Faculty of Arts
Kafrelsheikh University


 Last Ramadan, I was invited to a cultural event honoring a key intellectual icon in my home city. Few people, most of them had received an invitation like me, were dotted around in the big, elegant theatre at the center of a newly-constructed building, downtown. Paradoxically, the streets were overflowing with people, most of them shoppers . Since then, a host of questions have kept buzzing in my head. I wonder who do cultural and art centers address? How can they reach out to the audience segments who never make it to such events? And how can they become more in tune with the challenges we face as a community?

 Maintaining diversity is the key

This week, I came across many news stories on the growing need for arts and cultural centers and institutions, official and unofficial, to build more bridges to further population segments. "I think it is important to present shows that they can identify with and that they can see themselves represented onstage." BBC quoted  the new director of Arts Center in Bangor, Wales, as saying . "So the important thing is diversity, talking about diversity and communicating diversity in the right way." I thought to myself " Maybe things are not okay there, either".  Problems seem to be far beyond financial shortages, the ghost we always blame.  Rather, they have to do with working in a brutally challenging environment. It becomes so difficult to stick to the old tricks and policies which no longer fit in a world brimmed with diversity, where everyone is  eager to be in the picture and have a say to be heard and respected.

  Furnishing minds and hearts

Culture is in everything in us and around us. It is the way we view the world and act accordingly. Imagine life without a sense of belonging to a community, a set of ideas and values to embrace with fellows, or a common history and future to share with loved ones. The very main tasks of local and national arts and cultural organizations are: to nurture all aspects of culture which shape our identities, foster and educate arts, furnish minds and hearts, raise awareness, promote tolerance and peace, offer a safe haven to endangered crafts and craftsmen and constitute  a key part of everyone's interest and hobbies.

The vacuum left

The vacuum left by the institutions in the cultural arena is usually filled by extremism, ignorance, violence as well as "eccentric", non-mainstream ideologies. This definitely summons a global fight in all possible ways, including offering good education fighting poverty, inequality and unemployment, as well as creating hope and opportunities.  

Failing the test of time

Unfortunately, the current, rustic approach most cultural  and art centers adopt, which has been inherited from past generations, fails the test of time and reflects the deep abyss between the public at large and such organizations, which commonly  target a thin layer of the society, namely the elite, and give priority to elitist arts.

How can cultural and arts institutions rise to the challenge? 

Rising to the challenge may mean that cultural institutions have to deeply revise their  operations and vision  so as to address the needs of a society that is culturally more  diverse than ever and bring about the necessary changes in 
the existing system.

Engaging Diverse Audiences: Try this!

To this end, let us have a look at a summary of a report entitled An introduction to Engaging Diverse Audiences, in which professionals in local and national arts and cultural organizations are urged to try the following procedures to reach out to a wide range of citizens. One is "establishing a foundation" by formulating a clear, inclusive vision, a mission and an action plan. All staff should participate in formulating them, giving priority to equity of  representation to all segments of society. Officials must provide true leadership and creative solutions to the problems ahead. The second step is "assessing your current audience." Data about the audience, their interests as well as  their social , educational and occupational backgrounds must be available directly and indirectly. This is meant to know how the audience see cultural organizations' activities and programmes and whether they are really resonating with their lives. It is super important to know where you are before proceeding any further. The third procedure, according to the report, is  "defining audience segments", with a view of targeting some marginalized ones such as people with disabilities and low-income families. "Determining programming and events" is the fourth procedure. It aims to test the waters and identify the most appealing work to audience. Furthermore, cultural and arts organizations must seek out and embrace ways to connect to audience and share them their local and national events. A YouTube channel, for instance,  posting videos about the rehearsals of upcoming events makes the fans connect with artists and organizations alike  on a deeper and  more profound level. The fifth procedure is " developing a marketing and communications plan". It is about how to sell the programmes and make the necessary publicity utilizing all forms of advertising: flyers, posters, banners, social media, etc. The final procedure  is "evaluating progress". Cultural and arts organizations need to make sure that they managed to hit the target. If the number of audience increases, this is an indication that a progress is being made. If not, amendments to the plan become mandatory. One is to hold focus group sessions, inviting some community members  to hear from them about what went wrong and their suggestions to save the day.

 
No culture is flawless

Finally,  it is so urgent to redefine what is meant by cultural components and re-set cultural agenda to embrace  all activities of a given community. Opera, drama, concerts,  exhibitions, and other forms of fine arts  should be supplemented by all arts appealing to all population at large. Equally important is a deep and serious study of our culture's drawbacks  as no culture is flawless.  This would be the topic of further articles, God willing.





الأربعاء، 1 يناير 2020

2020: A Fresh Start to Get back on Track



2020:  A Fresh Start to Get back on Track





Has 2019 been a tough year for you?
Have you lost someone dear? A parent or a dear friend?
Have you suffered some setbacks in your career or relationships?
If your answer is a Yes to any of these questions, make sure to finish reading this article to the end.
Rest assured you are not alone; there is not a human being on this planet who goes through life feeling UP 100% of the time. We all get caught up in things we hate and we all lose our way.
Some of us remain lost forever, and some of us find our way back to the path we were destined to travel.  Eckhart Tolle once said: “the primary cause of unhappiness is never the situation but your thoughts about it.  Whether you stay lost, or find that path is a choice. If you beat yourself down or lift yourself up, it is a choice… and that choice starts in your own mind. Your reality is not what has happened, but how you frame what has happened.  Change your thoughts and you will change your life.
Here are 5 ways to get back on track, whenever youve lost your way.
Number 1. Ignite your inner fire; you need no external motivators.
Why MUST you do what you do? Why MUST you succeed? Why must you get healthy, develop yourself, set a positive example? Why MUST you earn more money, change your attitude, mend your relationships? Who are you doing it for? Why must you keep fighting?
There IS always a reason and when you find that reason it will keep your fire kindled. It will get you up early and keep you up late. It will inspire you to push harder, to fight longer, to try a different way… to find a way… To never… ever… give up. Youll still have low moments, but youll never stay there.  Find that reason.
Number 2. Know That Life Is Short
Understanding at a deep level that life is short, and you only get one shot at this human experience can be one of the most powerful ways to get you back on track. Its not a recipe for recklessness or craziness its a knowing that life is short, and everything you are stressing about will likely not matter in the end.
It takes the heaviness off almost every problem. Let it go and focus on doing the things you love: follow your passions, surrounding yourself with great people, be grateful for the life you have inside you, the time you have left and make the most of that time. Ask yourself:  how do I want to be remembered? How can I conduct myself, today and every other day, so I am remembered that way?

Number 3. Feed Your Mind With Something Positive and Powerful
Consume as much positive, transformative and powerful self-development material as possible. Write your own affirmations, read motivational books, listen to good audios, videos, talk to mentors. It doesn’t matter how to motivate yourself – it only matters that you do. If you feed your mind with powerful content every day, and really take it in,  it is very unlikely you will lose your way.
Ask yourself what you would LOVE to improve in your life, with your personal skills or traits… and then seek the best mentors and content on those topics. You can also feed your mind with your own inner content… this is known as GRATITUDE. There is no more powerful force on earth than gratitude and if you are really feeling it deep, and practicing it every day, it will ensure you remain in a powerful, positive state.
Number 4. Keep moving
Science has proven physical exercise can lower depression, reduce stress and release endorphins or “happy” chemicals from your brain. So, next time you lose your way get to the gym go for a run sweat release that tension somewhere positive. Do it daily and continue to grow your physical strength. Your physiology and posture also have a lot to do with how you feel. You will feel very different by standing tall, with your shoulders back and a smile on your face, than you will slumped over, shoulders down and frowning. Take note of your posture when you are down. Be conscious of it. Learn all you can about it and make the needed changes.
Number 5. Set your goals
GOALS are important because they clearly define WHERE you want to go, and keep you on track to getting there. Science (and common sense) will tell you those who set specific and clearly defined goals are much more likely to live successful and fulfilled lives than those who dont. Here are a few secrets to goal setting:  
Firstly Be very specific about what you want. Second – Be clear about WHEN you must have it. Finally – DEFINE HOW you will reach that goal.
By getting clear about what you must have and defining how you will get it and by when, you now have a clear purpose to work toward. The chances of you getting off track when you have something IMPORTANT to work towards are very slim. The key is to make it meaningful to you.
Now you know how to get back on track. You know that there are ways to get back on track. You know you dont have to stay lost. You know next time “THIS TOO SHALL PASS. It will pass.  Keep going and keep growing.