News
A total of 280 students have been admitted for Spring Semester 2007 at the American University of Kuwait. 197 of those students have been admitted into the undergraduate program, the remaining 83 have been admitted into the Intensive English Program at the University.
Each semester, the Student Affairs team along with the University New Student Orientation Leaders welcomes a host of new students to the American University of Kuwait. New AUK family members attend daylong sessions, known as PAR, in preparation for academic life at AUK. The Placement, Advisement, Registration (PAR) program is intended to assess the student's academic skills in English and Math and Arabic, give advice for the initial term of enrollment, and teach the student how to use the self-service tools that they will need throughout their college career. Another important aspect of PAR is new student orientation. Students get the opportunity to meet other new students and are mentored, given tours and acclimated to the programs and services of AUK by continuing students. Our goal is instill success before the students begin classes. PAR brings the University to Life for new students; we are happy to welcome them to the AUK family.
Dr. Michael Herb
Dr. Herb will be with us during the spring semester conducting research and teaching a course on Arab Politics. His research is on Kuwaiti politics, specifically the relationship between the Majlis al-Umma (National Assembly) and the government, to better understand how this has changed over time, and the degree to which Kuwait is - or is not - moving in a more democratic direction. Dr. Herb received his PhD from UCLA, and is currently an associate professor at Georgia State University. He was in Kuwait as a Fulbright student in 1993-94, and later published a book that drew, in part, from his research in Kuwait titled "All in the Family: Absolutism, Revolution and Democracy in the Middle Eastern Monarchies." Dr. Herb has also written on oil and politics, and democratization in monarchical systems of government.
Ms. Hema Mohan
Ms. Mohan will be at AUK through November 2007 conducting research on a system to standardize transliteration from Arabic into English. The first portion of her grant was in Yemen, where she attended Arabic language courses. Additionally, Hema is returning as an Administrative Intern in Student Life, where she first worked as a Dartmouth intern in the spring of 2005. Ms. Mohan graduated from Dartmouth College in 2006 with an A.B. in Arabic and Spanish.
Dr. Urkevich takes a look at the origin and evolution of art form
By Valiya S. Sajjad
Courtesy of Arab Times
24th January, 2007
The event was held on Monday 22nd January, 2007
Sawt is the leading traditional music of Kuwait, says Dr Lisa Urkevich, Head of Humanities and Arts and Professor of Musicology and Ethnomusicology at the American University of Kuwait (AUK).
She was giving a lecture at Dar Al Athar Islamiyyah Monday on the topic "Sawt: The Art Song of Kuwait." Audience were given a demonstration of the art form by a group of Kuwaiti students prior to the lecture.
The professor compared Sawt to the Blues of the western traditions owing to the "rebel nature of its early musicians and its lovelorn lyrics." Sawt pieces are usually performed with one singer accampanied by three main instruments: The Ud (lute), Mirwas (small hand drum) and the violin.
She explained the evolution of Sawt from humble art form intially performed by a small ensemble gathered in an intimate setting with a modest group of guestsinto a celebratory music of the sea community, attracting hundreds of audiences. "Paired dancing and robust handclapping was also part of the early Sawt culture."
"In the early days of its expansion, Sawt was distinguished by descriptive titles such as Sawt Yamani, Sawt Sanyani, Sawt Bubula etc. But these designations had nothing to do with the musical structure, and were merely programmatic. Since around 1950 Sawt has been classified by their rhythmic modes, of which three meters are prominent: Shami (in 8), Arabi (in 6) and Khayyali (in 12). Khayyali is found only in Kuwait, not in Bahrain."
Sawt draws from Arab Traditions, like Yemen, although its core is Kuwaiti. "It was innovated by the Kuwaiti Abdullah Al Farraj (1836-1903) and his early manifestations were kept alive by his immediate followers such as the brothers Khalid Al Bakr Yusuf Al Bakr (1875-1955). Sawt was further developed by famous musicians like Abdulatif Al Kuwaiti (1904-1975); Mahmood Al Kuwaiti and the Jewish brothers Daud (1910-1976) and Saleh Al Kuwaiti (1908-1986). They later moved to Iraq Where their career flourished."
Dr Lisa Urkevich came to Kuwait in 2003 to research through a grant from the US State Department Fulbright program. For over two years, she made field recordings and documented findings on the music and musicians of Kuwait and the neighbouring countries of the Gulf. This contributed to her earlier work in Saudi Arabia where, for four years, she lived and did research in various areas of the kingdom.
Before coming to Kuwait, Dr Urkevich was a professor at Boston University where she taught Arabian music. She has also been a visiting professor at various institutions.
She has four degrees in music: a PhD from the University of Maryland, a MM degree from Florida State University, a BS from Towson University and a BA from the university of Maryland. She is currently working on a CD with a book project with her colleague Ahmed Al Salhi on Kuwaiti Sawt.
Copyright (C) 2007 Arab Times
Dr Urkevich with members of Bin Hussain Sea band and AUK students
Dominique Gergen and Rose Mutiso, will be working with various departments on campus from now until late November. Please welcome our newest interns from Dartmouth College.
In honor of Liberal Arts week, AUK hosted a cultural performance by Bin Hussein Sea Band, on Tuesday December 12 at 7 p.m.
Bin Hussein Sea Band is the premiere sea band of the Arabian Gulf. This beloved and spirited troupe performs the music of the pearl divers and merchant seamen of Kuwait's past. Their performances are always very popular and genuinely "Kuwaiti."
The tent on AUK's campus was filled with faculty and staff, students and their families and pleasurable time was had by all.
Dean's List recipients
On Tuesday, December 12 at 5:30 PM, the American University of Kuwait held a ceremony to award and honor its Dean's List recipients. Dean's List recipients are exemplary students who maintain a grade point average of 3.5 or higher.
This semester's Dean's List recipients are:
Rawan Abulhasan
Fatmah Al-Qadfan
Fouz Al-Sabah
Munira Al-Sabah
Budour Al-Qassar
Fahad Mohammad
Sara Zakhari
Maya Abou-Ismail
Dalal Al-Hendi
Abdulla AlMulaifi
Abdulla Al-Qatami
Abrar Al-Baqsami
Ala'a Ali-Reda
Bibi Al-Ahmed
Engy Abbas
Mirna Agaibey
Abdulla Taki
Noufa Al-Sabah
Somaya Al-Masri
Hissa Al-Sabah
Ghada Al-AbdulAaly
Taiba Al-Humaidhi
Noora Al-Ibrahim
Ala'a Al-Kadri
Hamad Al-Khader
Maryam Al-Sabah
Basma Al-Sanee
Muneera Al-Sirhan
Jawaher Ali-Redha
Dana Al-Zayed
Mada Hammoud
Nawaf Najia
Rama Sabano
Nasser Al-Monawer
Abdullah Al-Wanayan
Hussein Nour-Elddine
Ebrahem Al-Hajri
Mohammed Sulaiman
Maryam Naseeb
Kheiriyeh Ahmadi
Mishari Al-Odah
Anwaar Al-Ibrahim
Amani Abdul-Rahman
Khaled Al-Hashem
Ahmad Adi
Bushra Zaher
Dania Dabliz
Manaf Al-Sawaha
Mohamed El-Kuishawy
Sara Al-Ateeqi
Enjood Al-Ghanim
Abdulrahman Al-Farra
Latifa Al-Falah
Sami Maan
Noura Al-Sabah
Mariam Al-Rayes
Fawaz Al-Maghrabi
Suheil Taye'a
Naser Quortom
Amro Sarhan
Mays Naser
Adla Al-Madahka
Nizar Mashal
Tareq Al-Rifaai
Shereen Shaheen
Lulwa Al-Anjari
Sara Al-Farhan
Hanan Al-Yousef
Noor Kortom
Noof Al-Muzaini
Areej Al-Bader
Nour Al-Fulaij
Sarah Al-Hilaly
Shoug Al-Khatrash
Rawan Al-Muzaini
Norah Al-Hilaly
Sally Saleh
Abdulla Al-Rahmani
Arij Awais
Dalal Al-Sabah
Abdalla AbdelRahman
Noaf Hussien
Mustafa Husain
Ahmed Lotfy
Valentina Noronha
Mirae Hanna
Dina El-Zohairy
Ahmad Al-Enezi
Heba Gabr
Omar Elkuka
Nour El-Shamsy
Khaled Shaaban
Rami Abdulsalam
Daniya Alam
Maryam Al-Bahar
Noura Al-Aleiwi
Amna Akbar
Christine El-Asmar
Mubina Chogule
Emad Salamah
Hebah Al-Duaij
Athari Al-Hamli
Dalia Al-Mahmood
Amal Tawakuli
Hussa Al-Refaie
Omar Al-Haider
Abdulaziz Al-Mossalem
Fahad Al-Kharafi
At the official opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony of the new Liberal Arts Building at the American University of Kuwait, President Marina Tolmacheva was joined by the Board of Trustees, and Dr. Imad Al-Atiqi from the Council of Public Universities.
The group, joined by students and faculty and special guests, then entered the new auditorium located in the new Liberal Arts Building, to deliver a few words, and award a group of students for various achievements.
President Tolmacheva welcomed the Board of Trustees, faculty and students, and invited Clifford Chanin, President of The Legacy Project in New York, who earlier in the week had delivered a lecture on "Building the Liberal Arts" ,to say a few more words in this opening ceremony.
Chanin expressed his great gratitude and fortune in being chosen as the keynote speaker and guest of AUK during this important time. He described it as an honor for him as an American, to see the word "American" being chosen as the name of the university. Chanin said in his conversations with important figures at AUK, he discovered that AUK was born to promote the values of critical thinking, of independent thinking, and of freedom- freedom of inquiry, freedom to think, and freedom to become.
President Tolmacheva presented Clifford Chanin with a Certificate of Appreciation. More awards and certificates followed. Professor Mary Queen presented freshman Noor Suliman with the award for "Best Essay on Liberal Arts".
Professor Rawda Awwad presented awards to her Public Speaking team, who had participated in a competition in Dubai, UAE. The students showed a slide show presentation of their trip to Dubai.
Sharifa Al-Adwani , Adjunct Professor at AUK, presented her Model United Nations team with their awards. One of the team members, Mr. Fahad Mohammed won the General Assembly's First Place "Diplomacy Award".
The ceremony concluded, and the Board of Trustees and their honored guests proceeded to have a tour of the new building, followed by lunch at the brand new "Wildcats Diner".
President Marina Tolmacheva opened AUK's 2nd Academic Showcase at noon on Monday, 11th December, in the Multipurpose Room on the AUK campus, with a brief speech in which she thanked all the students and faculty involved for their tremendous efforts in organizing the program of the showcase, which was put together on fairly short notice. She was very impressed, she said, with the diversity of the presentations and the amount of creativity shown.
Dr. Marina gave brief overviews of the scheduled presentations, and then introduced the keynote speaker, Mr. Clifford Chanin, who will present a lecture titled "Building Liberal Arts" later in the day.
Clifford Chanin is an honored guest at AUK this week. He is founder and president of The Legacy Project, a non-profit organization in New York dedicated to documenting contemporary responses- in visual art, literature, film and public debates about memory- to historical traumas in societies, around the world. For ten years, he was associate director of Arts and Humanities at the Rockefeller Foundation. He is also the editor of a monthly op-ed column, Islam and the World, for Project Syndicate, an association of 289 newspapers in 114 countries. Chanin has worked as a journalist and as a spokesman for the Mayor of New York.
The Academic Showcase program is part of Liberal Arts Week at AUK which is a celebration of the AUK Mission and the academic excellence of our faculty and students. The program of the Showcase runs for two days, December 11-12, and includes presentations, short film productions, and art exhibitions prepared by AUK students representing all academic fields at the university.
President of the American University of Kuwait Dr. Marina Tolmacheva gives an opening speech
A student presents his project to AUK students and visitors
Clifford Chanin, president and founder of The Legacy Project in New York, was visiting AUK during its eventful Liberal Arts Week. He was here to celebrate with the AUK family the official opening of the new Liberal Arts building, as well as to deliver the keynote speech aptly titled "Building the Liberal Arts."
Chanin expressed his pleasure in being part of this ceremonious event and noted that it is important for him as an American to acknowledge the honor of visiting a university in Kuwait that has chosen to call itself American. "The choice of name states what you are doing in Kuwait, but it also poses a question about the meaning of education and its role in our society and in your society. By posing this deeper question, AUK's founders have crossed fully into the realm of the liberal arts," he said.
There's nothing exclusively American about the Liberal Arts approach, he noted. Liberal Arts anywhere in the world extends an intellectual and ethical tradition that goes back to Antiquity and passes through various civilizations. It extends back from American universities into Enlightenment Europe, medieval monasteries, Arab humanists, and the Greeks.
Chanin explained that "the term 'liberal arts' is derived from Latin and was intended to denote the knowledge that a 'free man' needed to live freely and live well." He noted that this loftier form of education has now been eclipsed by what were once known as the 'servile arts', since the demands of Globalization have given more importance to vocational training. However, a liberal arts education remains crucial because, as he explained "it is not the particular content of the disciplines that forms the liberal arts. The means of learning is their defining feature."
The skills learned through a liberal arts education, which include critical reasoning, self reflection, and problem solving, have the capacity to enrich any field of study or profession. He emphasized that in order to truly succeed, one must not only be able to master a discipline but be able to "think: creatively, critically and adaptively" which is the strength of the liberal arts.
Addressing the students of AUK he said "It is important that, on graduation, each of you be prepared to participate in and contribute to Kuwaiti society and the global economy.The question, though, is how best to prepare yourself, and what you might expect from the university to which you have entrusted this preparation," and in closing added "let's think about the world that your generation will inherit - and the need you will have to engage fruitfully with people different from you, where difference will, in fact, be more a part of your lives than it has been for any generation that came before."
