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Middle East programs attracting UT students


By Ines Min

June 19, 2008

The number of UT students studying abroad in Middle Eastern countries increased by 46 percent in a four-year period, according to the University's Center for Global Educational Opportunities.

From 2002-2003 to 2005-2006, the number of UT students studying in the Middle East increased from 28 students to 41 students, and in the 2004 school year, 46 UT students traveled to the Middle East.

According to the Institute of International Education, a group that works to strengthen U.S. relations overseas, Middle East study abroad programs are becoming increasingly popular. The number of students studying abroad in these countries increased nationwide by 30.8 percent from the 2004 to 2005 school years, according to the data.

Randa Slim, vice president of the International Institute for Sustained Dialogue, a national organization that organizes open talks with representatives from the Muslim and American worlds, said increasing student travel to the Middle East is a progressive step and that there is a lack of education in Arabic language and culture in the U.S.

"I think that there are four or five [members] in Congress who have taken maybe one course on the Middle East," Slim said. "And they're sitting there today making decisions on the Middle East. There's a lot of ignorance, in my opinion, driving their decisions."

U.S. Department of Education statistics, cited in a June 2004 New York Times article, showed that of the 1.8 million students who graduated in 2003 - the year the U.S. invaded Iraq - 22 received degrees in Arabic. The article points to a lack of initiatives in the U.S. that promote Arabic-language education when compared to the educational initiatives implementetd during the Cold War under the National Defense Education Act.

According to the College Board, 18 universities in the U.S. offer undergraduate degrees in Arabic language and literature.

"There's a lot of ignorance, in my opinion, driving [people's] decisions," Slim said. "There's also a lot of fear, well-placed and well-deserved at times, but a lot of ignorance."

Slim organizes the ongoing meetings for Sustained Dialogue. The group is comprised of politically moderate individuals, including former American diplomats, European diplomats and others, from six Arab countries. They discuss identity, terrorism, fairness and exclusiveness, and the establishment of new relationships, Slim said.

"There is a wall of fear separating our society from the society of the Middle East," Slim said. "We need to humanize the other side, or we are doomed to be a part of the cultural divide."

Edward Dorn, a professor in the LBJ School of Public Affairs, said it is important to repair political ties with the Middle East and that study abroad programs can help in this process.

"It is abundantly clear that we have not awarded enough effort to the region, considering its strategic importance," Dorn said.

Because of the lack of government initiatives to educate students on Middle Eastern language and culture, Dorn said there are several problems in regards to studying abroad in the Middle East and accepting international students from the region.

"The problem is that the U.S. is not a very popular place in the Middle East," Dorn said. "Scholars who come to study encounter suspicion when they get back to their home countries. They are immediately suspect."