Aloha, I was unable to attend the first day of class, so I will be responding to two questions that some of you may have shared in class on this blog:
1. Describe a place that has been significant to you in your life. Use details of what sights, smells, sounds, and other sensations you remember from this place.
One of the most significant places of my life would have to be Cairo Egypt. I spent a summer in Egypt when I was 14 years old. My grandmother at the time lived there along with many other family members. It was really my first introduction to my family roots in the Middle East. My father was born in Cairo and my mother in Kuwait; both are of Palestinian descent and identify themselves as so. In 1948 most of my family fled Palestine and subsequently reside everywhere from Canada to Europe. Therefore, since I grew up in the US I never could “go to grandma’s house” or play with my cousins since they all lived far away. During my time in Egypt I got to visit different family members I had never met before. Sometimes I would go shopping with my grandmother during the day or help her make delicious dishes in the kitchen. At night I would explore Cairo with my cousins. Some of the most memorable things I remember was waking up to the sound of the Athan (call of prayer) from the Mosque, fearfully crossing eight-lane highways, the pungent smell of exhaust fumes, and most of all spending time with my family. Ultimately, the most memorable sensation was feeling, for lack of a better term, a sense of normality. I was part of a family that was absent in my life until then.
2. Tell us about why and how your studies or your research are important to you.
A large part of my training in Political Science is based on researching about certain issues that arouse my interests. I am currently in the process of writing a thesis regarding the root causes of the Egyptian Revolution utilizing social movement theories. I especially find it important to analyze normative narratives. For instance, a genealogy of Egypt’s recent history has led me to believe that a flawed historiography of the “Arab Spring” is being constructed. The normative narrative that overemphasizes social media networks and deemphasizes historical realities of contentious activism fails to explain why an uprising occurred. So to sum up, I think that reconstructing or reclaiming flawed historiographies would be one of the most rewarding accomplishments as a scholar.
Since I missed the first class, I am also submitting my answers to the above questions via the blog.
1. The defining environment of my life is the ocean. For almost twenty years I spent my summers with my mother's family near the coast of Maine. As a child I am told, I refused to go into the water. I would stand on the edge of a beach blanket with my shoes on and stare out into the ocean. My grandmother suspects that it was the noise of the waves that drew my focus. At some point I got over my reluctance to go near the water, and became an avid swimmer. I was the kid who practically needed to be dragged from the ocean at the end of the day--which with Maine's water temperature is certainly surprising. Unfortunately for me my family moved to the midwest when I was young. Summers became vivid experiences for me because of my love of the ocean. Maine's coast has a distinctive salty air smell, and every time I smell the salt air of the ocean--no matter where it is-- I recall the memories of my childhood. The physical experiences of Maine are intertwined with strong memories of time spent with my cousins. My mom has a big family (11 kids), and summers where epic, as we somehow managed to fit several families into one home. My summers seemed a sharp contrast in terms of sights, sounds, smells, and experiences when compared to my experiences in the midwest, that it is not surprising that I moved back to the coast the first opportunity that I could (college). I have made many of the significant decisions in life because of those experiences I had during my summers on the coast of Maine.
2. School has always been an important part of my life. My grandparents were always asking me what I wanted to do in college, and once I finished undergrad, they started asking what kind of grad program I was interested in. I like learning, asking questions, and trying to figure things out or see things from a different perspective. I came to UH and Political Science because I spent my undergrad focused on science, and after graduating, I realized how much I missed in other areas of study.
Aloha, I was unable to attend the first day of class, so I will be responding to two questions that some of you may have shared in class on this blog:
ReplyDelete1. Describe a place that has been significant to you in your life. Use details of what sights, smells, sounds, and other sensations you remember from this place.
One of the most significant places of my life would have to be Cairo Egypt. I spent a summer in Egypt when I was 14 years old. My grandmother at the time lived there along with many other family members. It was really my first introduction to my family roots in the Middle East. My father was born in Cairo and my mother in Kuwait; both are of Palestinian descent and identify themselves as so. In 1948 most of my family fled Palestine and subsequently reside everywhere from Canada to Europe. Therefore, since I grew up in the US I never could “go to grandma’s house” or play with my cousins since they all lived far away. During my time in Egypt I got to visit different family members I had never met before. Sometimes I would go shopping with my grandmother during the day or help her make delicious dishes in the kitchen. At night I would explore Cairo with my cousins. Some of the most memorable things I remember was waking up to the sound of the Athan (call of prayer) from the Mosque, fearfully crossing eight-lane highways, the pungent smell of exhaust fumes, and most of all spending time with my family. Ultimately, the most memorable sensation was feeling, for lack of a better term, a sense of normality. I was part of a family that was absent in my life until then.
2. Tell us about why and how your studies or your research are important to you.
A large part of my training in Political Science is based on researching about certain issues that arouse my interests. I am currently in the process of writing a thesis regarding the root causes of the Egyptian Revolution utilizing social movement theories. I especially find it important to analyze normative narratives. For instance, a genealogy of Egypt’s recent history has led me to believe that a flawed historiography of the “Arab Spring” is being constructed. The normative narrative that overemphasizes social media networks and deemphasizes historical realities of contentious activism fails to explain why an uprising occurred. So to sum up, I think that reconstructing or reclaiming flawed historiographies would be one of the most rewarding accomplishments as a scholar.
Since I missed the first class, I am also submitting my answers to the above questions via the blog.
ReplyDelete1. The defining environment of my life is the ocean. For almost twenty years I spent my summers with my mother's family near the coast of Maine. As a child I am told, I refused to go into the water. I would stand on the edge of a beach blanket with my shoes on and stare out into the ocean. My grandmother suspects that it was the noise of the waves that drew my focus. At some point I got over my reluctance to go near the water, and became an avid swimmer. I was the kid who practically needed to be dragged from the ocean at the end of the day--which with Maine's water temperature is certainly surprising. Unfortunately for me my family moved to the midwest when I was young. Summers became vivid experiences for me because of my love of the ocean. Maine's coast has a distinctive salty air smell, and every time I smell the salt air of the ocean--no matter where it is-- I recall the memories of my childhood. The physical experiences of Maine are intertwined with strong memories of time spent with my cousins. My mom has a big family (11 kids), and summers where epic, as we somehow managed to fit several families into one home. My summers seemed a sharp contrast in terms of sights, sounds, smells, and experiences when compared to my experiences in the midwest, that it is not surprising that I moved back to the coast the first opportunity that I could (college). I have made many of the significant decisions in life because of those experiences I had during my summers on the coast of Maine.
2. School has always been an important part of my life. My grandparents were always asking me what I wanted to do in college, and once I finished undergrad, they started asking what kind of grad program I was interested in. I like learning, asking questions, and trying to figure things out or see things from a different perspective. I came to UH and Political Science because I spent my undergrad focused on science, and after graduating, I realized how much I missed in other areas of study.