Associate professor of geography Shaul Cohen challenged Americans Monday to better educate themselves about the Middle East, kicking off a week of events celebrating the region.
Cohen spoke at the opening ceremony of the International Resource Center’s “Opening Windows on Middle East Cultures” week. The IRC will host programs and events through Friday intended to increase awareness of the people and cultures that compose the Middle East.
“So often in the United States, we have the Middle East reduced to a couple of conflicts and a couple of peoples in a couple of countries,” Cohen said. “We’re obligated to engage in basic education about the Middle East.”
University President Dave Frohnmayer and Director of International Student and Scholarship Services Magid Shirzadegan, who spoke before Cohen, offered similar sentiments.
“I hope this causes us to reflect on how much more we have to learn,” Frohnmayer said
Shirzadegan and Cohen both said an intensive media focus on terrorism in the Middle East leaves Americans with a distorted view of the region.
“Unfortunately, these images and the stories we hear about affect how we think about the people of the Middle East,” Shirzadegan said.
In remarks that were occasionally pointed toward the Bush administration, Cohen argued that future conflicts can be avoided if Americans begin to understand the people of the Middle East better.
Americans would be better served by learning about the Middle East in a university setting than as soldiers in foreign lands, he said.
The ceremony was held in the International Resource Lounge, located above the post office in the EMU.
Throughout the week, the IRC will host a tea time from 3-5 p.m. A sitting area comprising pillows and a rug from Saudi Arabia will serve as the social hearth for guests.
“The Middle East is famous for its hospitality, so we decided to do our own small version of hospitality this week, every afternoon,” said Sonja Rasmussen, coordinator of the IRC.
Events throughout the week look to humanize life in the Middle East, offering students a broader picture of the region than the media present, Rasmussen said.
Planning for the week’s events began in the spring and sought to draw from the knowledge and experiences of faculty, students and local merchants.
Lucia Black, a senior who helped Rasmussen organize and plan the week’s events, took pride in how the plans turned out.
“As I looked at the schedule this week, I was really happy to say that if I hadn’t planned these events, I would still come to most of them,” she said.
Black agreed with Cohen that increased understanding of the Middle East could lead to significant improvements in international relations.
“The way I can see this event as a success is if people who are interested in the Middle East come together and meet each other, and people who don’t know anything about it are connected with the resources and professors who do,” she said.
