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Members of the American University of Kuwait's Alpha Rho Eta chapter of Sigma Tau Delta International English Honor Society Fatima Ibraheem, Dana A Al-Failakawi, Noura Al-Ajmi, and Iman Askar, attended the organization 2011 convention in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA to present their academic work that included a panel entitled "Embracing Arabic Poetry and Poetics" and an individual paper by Fatima Ibraheem entitled, "Retha'a, or Lament for the Most Worthy." 

The panel introduced two of the most prominent Arab poets Al-Mutanabee and Al-Khansa'a to the American scholars. The group from AUK discussed the legacy of Arabic poetry which makes it distinct from other poetry. Focusing on their panegyric poems and elegies, the panelists recited some poems in Arabic, read Dr. Raymond Farrin's translations of it into English, and then gave explication of the poetry that provided lessons in structure, theme, and musicality of the verses. Members of the audience were particularly interested in the power of impromptu poems that past Arabs practiced in competitions. 

In her individual paper, Fatima Ibraheem applied medieval literary and rhetorical techniques to the "Battle of Karbala," a significant incident in Islamic history to produce a creative piece that introduced the event to a largely uninformed American audience. She emphasized the revolutionary hero, Imam Hussein, whose bravery in the face of fighting injustice still serves as a role-model for contemporary uprisings such as the recent Egyptian Revolution. Her argument was the universality of his vision transcends timeframe and geographic space to reject injustice and oppression. 

Dawn Megli-Thuna, one American student who attended both presentations commented, "I have to tell you that I enjoyed both of your presentations immensely and was very moved. I feel like your brand of academic ambassadorship is so important because there is so little awareness of Arabic culture in the West. The beauty of Arabic poetry is sure to be a vital component in bringing others to love that part of the globe. As for your [Fatima's] individual paper; it's such an epic story and dovetails beautifully with the medieval style, You seem like such strong and intelligent women and I wonder at the confluence of events that produced that." 

When asked about her conference experience, Chapter President, Fatima Ibraheem said, "I went to Pittsburgh with a specific and significant message in mind to share with the American peers we meet over there. This message was my greatest motivation that drove me to leave school for almost a week and board a 14-hour flight - the longest flight so far. I have to say that the degree of interest some of the American students exhibited in wanting to learn more was very impressive." 

As part of the question/answer session, during her individual paper, Fatima was asked about the purpose of her individual paper. She answered, "I was aiming to produce an intellectual, yet creative original piece by intertwining Islamic history with medieval literature, attempting to imitate what most scholars do when producing original pieces. I hope I was able to satisfy, at least, a fraction of that. Part of my aim was also to expose to you the beautiful face of Islam that is unfortunately masked with thick layers." 

AUK's chapter earned the most prestigious chapter award offered by the International Honor Society. It was of one of three chapters, out of nearly 800 chapters in the organization to earn the Outstanding Chapter Award. In the report provided by the judges, the chapter was cited for its "amazing variety of exciting projects and special events" and that it displayed "an extraordinary enthusiasm for, and excitement about, the discipline of English." 

This Outstanding Chapter Award is particularly important for the chapter because this is the first time in the Society's 87 year history that an international chapter has received this distinction. It also is a testimony to the creativity of the AUK student members who have excelled in English language and literature studies said Dr. William C. Johnson, Executive Director of Sigma Tau Delta. He added that "the Society is very proud of what Dr. Nixon and the AUK students have done to turn the Alpha Rho Eta chapter into one that is a model for English honor students everywhere." 

Citing all members of the organization who helped the group earn their distinction, faculty advisor Dr. Kathy Nixon said, "I am so proud of the students Nur Soliman, Nuha Al-Fadli, Fatima Ibraheem, Dana Al-Failakawi, Alia Aref, Kawther Sadeq, Noura Al-Ajmi, Amal Behbehani, Hawraa Ashour, Abdulaziz Al-Hagan, Amnah Ibraheem and Iman Askar for their attention to academics and the dedication to the study of English that it took for them to earn this award. It is an honor for me to work with such wonderful students." 

At the convention, the AUK students also earned the Outstanding Chapter Display award for creating a display table that depicted the life of the chapter at AUK. The students were also invited to a private reception with author Lorene Carey to present her a DVD copy of selection from the impromptu translations of her book Black Ice into Arabic. AUK students, staff, and faculty made the recording during the 2011 Common Reader Event at AUK. All members of the honor society are asked to read the book designated as the common reader before convention.
 

Chapter members with Common Reader author and featured speaker, Lorene Cary
 

Noura Al-Ajmi preparing the display table that won the AUK chapter the Outstanding Chapter Display award
 

Chapter President, Fatima Ibraheem casting her ballot for student representative during the election and budget meeting. All chapters receive funds for their participation in the elections
 

Fatima Ibraheem presenting her individual paper
 

Students interacting with the panelists after their papers
 

Panelists Noura Al-Ajmi, Iman Askar, Fatima Ibraheem and Dana Al-Failakawi
 

AUK panelists interacting with members of the audience

World renowned marketing expert Professor Philip Kotler delivered his first certified training seminar in Kuwait, in cooperation with Al-Raya Group and The American University of Kuwait (AUK), as he discussed the importance of values driven marketing. 

Professor Kotler's one-day certified training seminar, Marketing 3.0 - Values Driven Marketing, was held on April 4 at the AUK Campus and was organized by the Center for Continuing Education at AUK. It encouraged corporations to review how they market themselves and their products to clients and consumers, and provide a very special learning opportunity to students of Marketing in Kuwait. 

Professor Kotler, who invented the four Ps of Marketing and Social Marketing, designed the concept of values driven marketing in the wake of the disastrous global financial crisis to assist companies rebound, reset growth potential and address challenges of doing business. His new model of marketing (Marketing 3.0) treats customers not as mere consumers, but as the complex multi-dimensional human beings that they are. Customers, in turn, are choosing companies and products that satisfy deeper needs for participation, creativity, community, and idealism. Leading companies realize they must reach these highly aware, technology-enabled customers and that the old rules of marketing won't help them do this. Instead, they must create products, services and corporate cultures that inspire, include and reflect their customer's values. 

Director of the Center for Continuing Education, Ms. Jeanne Al-Failakawi said the American University of Kuwait was delighted to host Professor Kotler for his ground-breaking seminar. "The Marketing 3.0 seminar is an exceptional way to get university students thinking about themselves as individuals, as well as members in a global market," she said. 

Al-Raya Group's Training and Consulting Manager, Abdul Rahman Al-Haddad, described the seminar as "a life-changing experience; a must see." 

The one-day seminar covered such topics as dealing with business challenges and opportunities, generating new ideas and innovating successfully, improving branding power, and developing a superior company reputation through sustainability-driven thinking. 

About Professor Philip Kotler
Philip Kotler is the S.C. Johnson & Son Distinguished Professor of International Marketing at the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, USA. 

Professor Kotler, who is the inventor of the "4 Ps" of Marketing (which he has now transformed to "7 Ps") as well as the inventor of "Social Marketing", has been involved in the research & development of marketing for the past 55 years. He is the author of Marketing Management (Prentice Hall), now in its 13th edition, and the most widely used marketing textbook in graduate schools of business around the globe, with more than 20 million copies sold to date. He has authored over 50 other successful books and he has published over 150 articles in leading journals. 

He received his Master's degree at the University of Chicago and Ph.D. at M.I.T., both in Economics, and has also received 12 honorary PhDs. 

He is the only three-time winner of the coveted Alpha Kappa Psi award for the best annual article in the Journal of Marketing. Professor Kotler has been named among the Top 50 business gurus since 1998. In 2008 & 2009 Professor Kotler was ranked amongst the top 10 Business Thinkers of the World by The Thinkers 50. See www.thinkers50.com

About The Center for Continuing Education
The Center for Continuing Education offers programs and services which complement those of the College of Arts and Sciences and the Intensive English Program at the American University of Kuwait. Moreover, CCE has programs and courses to meet the growing demand for workforce development training. 

The Center's target audiences include adults wishing to advance or change their careers, update or upgrade their knowledge, skills and abilities, or achieve professional credentials or certifications. It also caters to young adults who wish to prepare for university studies, prepare for exams such as the TOEFL, IELTS, and SAT, and participate in enrichment programs. 

The Center for Continuing Education offers programs throughout the year. The majority of programs are offered at AUK's Salmiya Campus, but some may be offered at community sites or in specialized off-campus facilities. For more information on CCE, please visit the CCE website: www.auk.edu.kw/cce/index.html , email us at cce@auk.edu.kw or call 1-802040 / (+965) 2224-8399 ext. 123, 124.
 

Professor Philip Kotler on stage at the American University of Kuwait Auditorium as he delivers his seminar 'Marketing 3.0'
 

Professor Philip Kotler is presented with the AUK Coin by Vice President for Administrative and Student Affairs Dr. Carol Ross-Scott
  

Professor Philip Kotler delivers his seminar 'Marketing 3.0' in front of a packed audience
 

A participant addresses a question to Professor Philip Kotler

AUK Associate Professor of English Language and Literature Dr. Ghazi Nassir attended The 42nd American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies Annual Meeting in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada on March 17-20, 2011. Professor Nassir presented a paper titled "Un-Johnsonian Sequels." 

The paper focuses on the two attempts that have been made to correct the supposed defect in the conclusion of Rasselas: Dinarbas; A Tale: Being a Continuation of Rasselas, by Ellis Cornelia Knight in 1790, and The Second Part of the History of Rasselas, Prince of Abyssinia, by Elizabeth Pope Whately in 1835. One might ask the following question: what Johnson's opinion would have been, had he been alive to express an opinion, of two attempts to extend and complete the narrative of Rasselas? The paper argues that Johnson would have rejected both attempts to compose sequels to Rasselas because his commitments to religion were at odds with romantic narratives, the genre of these sequels are written in, and because of his repulsion against glorifying images of war and military conflict which they contain in excess. The premise of peruse of happiness in these two sequels is marked by many basic references that would have been unthinkable by Samuel Johnson. After all, sequels, like in movies, do not recreate the same perceptions, outcomes, and reactions. Thus, this paper's main purpose is to assess these sequels not only as imitations of Rasselas, but as a critical response to it. Simply put, neither author followed Johnson's dictum that "happiness, as well as virtue, consists in mediocrity."
 

Dr. Ghazi Nassir

Travis Michael Cramer, hailing from Portland, Oregon, is a member of the class of 2012 at Dartmouth College. He is an Anthropology major and is interested in education management. In the past he has served as an executive of several extracurricular clubs, worked as a behavioral neuroscience research assistant, and participated in choir, musical theatre, and track and cross country running. On campus he is involved in community service activities such as tutoring local elementary and middle school students and helping foreign students learn English. He is also involved in a campus Christian group and is the Service and Philanthropy Chair of Zeta Psi Fraternity. Travis is looking forward to learning about the Middle East and meeting and working with the students, faculty, and staff of AUK. Travis will be working in the Office of the Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, the Writing Center, and with the Student Success Center. Travis will be at AUK until the end of May 2011. This is the thirteenth time since 2005 an intern joins AUK from Dartmouth College.
 

Travis Michael Cramer

The Hope Club of AUK hosted an event on March 20, 2011 titled, "Service is My Joy- Ceremony" where club members shared their volunteering experience with the campus community. The event, which took place in the AUK auditorium from 2-3 pm, inspired many members of the AUK community and encouraged them to involve themselves in more volunteering activities. 

The events host, Rana Abd- Hamid, initiated the event by talking about how the volunteering opportunity she took with the aid of the Hope Club in association with LOYAC helped change the way she saw things. She also personally thanked all of the members who were involved in the volunteering with KACCH and the Kuwait Handicap Association and then went on to introduce the Hope Club's President - Mohammad Abu Mazzen. He gave a brief speech about how his perspective was altered after he volunteered at the Kuwait Handicap Association. 

Rana then introduced two students Ossamah Farah and Sara Raji, who were both volunteers with the children at KACCH. They both helped the audience understand how no matter what the situation of any child, the bottom line to their happiness was a will to play and smile. After their speeches a short movie was screened showcasing some of the Hope Club members and theirs journey with KACCH. 

Club members Dana Bandar, who presented a short poem, and Sara Qaddura who offered a moving speech about her experience with some of the Handicap members of our society she worked with during the semester break. The volunteers' powerful words gave the audience a sense of how difficult it was to realize that those ailing members of our society are seriously overlooked and that despite physical differences; they all just want to be loved. 

Another short film was presented showing the experiences of those Hope members who were involved with the Handicap association. AMIDEAST intern Christopher Asmar, was invited to share his views on the Hope Club "Fun Day" that was held with the Kuwait Handicap Society. He described his journey and his perspective helping the audience get a better view into the world of volunteering.
 

For two full days, March 15-16, the American University of Kuwait campus was converted into an elaborate fair with 7 hours of shows a day introducing the students and community to the wonders of Kuwaiti heritage. The AUK Arabian Heritage Project's Al Kout Festival opened with a great start. The Arabian Heritage Project is a center devoted to promoting and fostering culture in the Peninsula, and the annual Al Kout Festival is a way to bring that heritage alive. "This year, since it was the 50/20/5 Anniversary of Kuwait and we were under the Patronage of the Minister of Education, Dr. Moudi Al-Hmoud, we wanted to feature our students more than ever," says Dr. Lisa Urkevich, the Director of the Arabian Heritage Project. "Although everyone loved our professional guests, our most popular stage shows were by far those that featured our gifted student musicians, singers, poets, and artists. Under our Al Kout motto, 'Where Kuwaiti past meets Kuwaiti future' we were able to show how our students are thinking about their heritage but in a fresh, invigorating way that looks to the future." 


This is the third time Al Kout Festival has been offered at AUK, and it was the most elaborate festival so far. The National Museum provided a grand, detailed display of Kuwaiti heritage, over fourteen different craftsmen and women graced the campus, camel rides were offered all day, and a rare Irish stallion from one of the leading stables in Kuwait was walked in the campus. Over nine Bedouin artisans introduced their craft in a traditional tent surrounded by tools of Bedouin life. A bazaar of over 40 booths and tables stocked with goods and food from leading merchants and restaurants lined the center of campus, and a car show with antique vehicles was an Al Kout favorite. Student 50/20 logo winners exhibited their highly lauded graphic displays. 

The grand stage built in the central campus was the focal point where seven hours of performance took place each day. Dozens of talented AUK students were featured performing Kuwaiti traditional pieces that they themselves often arranged musically. Student poets offered original poems, at least one praising "Al Kout." The great Salman Al-Amari, master of Kuwaiti sawt, and his ensemble was featured. Famous Bedouin poet Salem Sayar fascinated students and guests, as did a leading Adani band. Brief performances of classical South Indian Karnatic music soothed the crowd, followed by shows each day by the great Kuwaiti Sea Bands, Bin Hussein and Mayouf. The festival ended with a standing-room-only concert by the phenomenal singer Fatoomah. As one student blogged about all the stage performances, "WHAT A SHOW!" 

The festival was generously sponsored by Kipco, Burgan Bank, Kuwait Hotels, Gulf Net, Gulf Insurance, and Kamco who all support Kuwaiti heritage with great pride. 

For more information please contact 
Dr. Lisa Urkevich, 
Director, 
Arabian Heritage Project 
ArabianHeritage@auk.edu.kw
 

Al Kout Festival in images

 

The Gulf Studies Center at the American University of Kuwait hosted its 3rd Diwaniah for AUK directors and faculty in the Kuwait house of National Works, memorial museum on Saturday, March 12 2011. The museum started with the reception hall, where the walls consisted of hand drawn portraits of the rulers of Kuwait from the late Sheikh Mubarak Al Kabeer to our present Amir. The reception hall also contained a large map of Kuwait made of colored glass. Followed by that was the Kuwait heritage hall, which was designed by voice recordings, old folk songs, and miniature models of Kuwaiti buildings. The museum included hand drawn panoramas, photos, and weapons used by the Iraqis during the invasion. 

Attendees: Dr. Winfred Thompson, Dr. James Goodpasture, Dr. Marjorie Kelly, Dr. Kathy Nixon, Dr. Francisco Carrada Bravo, Dr. Pellegrino A. Luciano, Dr. Christopher Ohan, Dr. Ralph Palliam, Dr. Gholamreza Vatandoust, Mrs. Gholamreza, Dr. Mohammad Akbar, Dr. Anastasia Kononova, Prof. Kevin Peppard, Prof. Charles W Cange, Prof. Abbas Momeni, Prof. William Andersen, Prof. Maryam Hosseinnia, Prof. Marcia Denny, Mrs. Jill H. Allgier, Hiba Ali and Menna Abdulhamid.
 

Group Photo with Dr. Winfred Thompson
 

Left to Right: Dr. Mohammad Akbar's son, Dr. Mohammad Akbar-Director of GSC, Menna Abdulhamid -Student worker GSC, Hiba Ali- Program Coordinator GSC, Dr. Ralph Palliam- Associate Professor of Business Administration