Structural Deficiency or Cultural Racism: The Educational and Social Experiences of Arab‐Australian Youth

This paper discusses the cultural, attitudinal and structural factors that impact upon the social experiences and educational achievements of Arabic‐speaking background (ASB) students in three Melbourne secondary schools with high levels of cultural and linguistic diversity. The paper makes the case for and then outlines a multidimensional approach to multicultural education to better integrate ASB students and their families into the schooling environment. Key strategies developed and tested include a model of school‐community partnership, online and interactive teacher support material (TSM) as well as on‐going teacher professional development workshops on reflexive approaches to cultural diversity and intercultural tension.     

阿拉伯的“布瓦吉吉”们——青年在阿拉伯剧变中的影响和启示

自2011年初阿拉伯剧变发生以来，关于此次剧变原因和影响的讨论莫衷一是，但不可否认的是，占人口多数、受过较高教育的青年一代在其中发挥了重要影响。该文聚焦于阿拉伯青年这一群体，分析其在此次剧变中的影响和作用。对高物价和高失业率等民生问题以及政治制度和现代化进程的不满、对新媒体的娴熟运用使阿拉伯青年成为了抗议民众中的主力。与此同时，这一群体也成为了剧变发生后影响阿拉伯国家政治、社会、经济改革和发展以及未来政局走向的重要因素、此次阿拉伯剧变中青年的角色行为对我国有一定的启示，可以从中吸取教训，未雨绸缪．     

唐朝在中亚建立的防御体系述论

在显庆至天宝年间 ,唐朝确有在中亚抵制大食东扩的战略 ,即利用当地的政治势力抵抗大食 ,力求以最小的军事力量保持西域地区的相对安宁。唐朝还在中亚建立起一个针对大食的防御体系 ,该体系先后以突骑施、康国为中心 ,中亚九姓胡基本上加入这个体系中。     

9-10世纪阿拉伯商人视角下的中国唐代林业--以《中国印度见闻录》为依据

《中国印度见闻录》是9—10世纪阿拉伯人所著的最早关于中国和印度的游记。其部分内容记载了阿拉伯商人所见所闻的中国唐代林业情况,如天然林分布、经济林发展、森林动植物资源开发利用、生态环境、城市绿化和战争对林业的损坏等,是把中国林业情况介绍和传播到欧洲及阿拉伯世界的先驱,也是一部可用于研究中国古代林业的珍贵文献。在阿拉伯人眼里,中国唐代森林资源丰富,林业经济发达,森林动植物和林产品种类繁多,城市和自然环境美丽,生态环境和谐,人民生活比较富足,是个令人神往的国家,而唐末战争则对林业造成极大的打击和破坏。     

Local Solidarities: How the Arab Spring Protests Started

Coming as a surprise to most observers and following the self‐immolation of a street vendor in a remote town of central Tunisia, the Jasmine Revolution of 2010–2011, the first uprising of the Arab Spring, has often been seen as a success story for digital communication through widespread use of social media. We suggest that this applied to the later phase of the protests in Tunisia but not to the initial phase, which occurred in local areas in impoverished and marginalized regions with highly limited access to the Internet. The initial phase lasted a full 10 days before the protests reached major cities where social media operated. Building on Tilly's concept of trust network, we offer the concept of local solidarities as key to the beginning of the Arab Spring uprisings and as encompassing spatial proximity, shared marginalized status, and kinship, all of which combined to serve as a basis for trust and collective action.     

Arab school principals in Israel – between conformity and moral courage

ABSTRACT

The Arab-Israeli education system is a separate but not autonomous system serving Israel’s inhabitants whose first language is Arabic. These include the Muslim and Bedouin majority communities and smaller Christian, Druze and others, whose children attend schools in which the curriculum is determined by a Zionist perspective, taught in Arabic. Thus, in the context of a system established according to the Israeli cultural/national narrative, this study brings to light the voice of ten principals who, through open, in-depth interviews – ‘small stories’ – reveal their prospective and management of issues-in-conflict to formulate and present their professional identity according to their own sense of self. It presents the conflicts their position confronts vis-à-vis both the formal education authorities and the unique situation their society and culture pose in executing their educational/administrative and moral responsibilities. The findings reveal situations ranging from active acceptance of the institutional dictates of a conformist nature, through passive acceptance, (‘conformity’) to attempts at promoting autonomous activities within the defined limitations (‘moral courage’).     

The impact of Arab-Israeli culture on the characteristics of the therapeutic encounter between women social workers and fathers in Arab parent–child centers

Summary: The aim of the study was to present the impact of the Arab-Israeli culture on the therapeutic encounter between women social workers with fathers in Arab parent–child centers in Israel. The research was qualitative, and was based on in-depth interviews with 15 Arab women social workers employed in nine parent–child centers, where they treat Arab fathers. Findings: The social workers’ perceptions about the fathers’ perceptions of the therapeutic encounter has an impact on the professional encounter. In some cases, these perceptions were a hindrance to the treatment and necessitated work to help the father overcome these perceptions and to reduce his potential resistance to the treatment. In other cases, the social workers’ perceptions about the fathers’ perceptions advanced the treatment. A supportive attitude toward the treatment meant a better starting point, which was reflected throughout the therapeutic process, when the father believed in the treatment and accepted the idea of asking for help. Application: The study findings show the importance of the social workers’ awareness of the fathers’ cultural stance, as well as of the similarities and differences between their own cultural perceptions and that of the fathers.     

The use of political motherhood in Egypt’s Arab Spring uprising and aftermath

ABSTRACT

Political motherhood, which uses traditional motherhood to mobilize and sustain women’s political participation, is understudied in political science. Women played a significant role in Egypt’s Arab Spring and its aftermath by “bargaining with patriarchy” and strategically using traditional motherhood to access the political sphere. In this article, we develop a theoretical argument based on the work of Gentry, Carreon and Moghadam and Amar. We illustrate it with examples drawn from news articles on women’s political activism and social media posts by Egyptian activists. Our argument explores how women’s agency and the larger political context in which women operate reveals how political motherhood takes the particular shape that it does. In the context of Egypt, we examine how the state’s choice to highlight women as “hypervisible” citizens, worthy of protection, backfired. Through a bottom-up political motherhood, women used their respectability as mothers in need of state protection against the state, thereby legitimizing anti-Mubarak and anti-Muslim Brotherhood demonstrations and challenging these governments.     

Division of Labor and Decision-Making in Arab Families in Israel: Processes of Change and Preservation

The study examines the changes that Arab families in Israel have undergone over three generations. It focuses on change and preservation in the division of labor between spouses, in the attitudes toward it, and оn how decisions are made in the family. It also examines the factors contributing to the preservation of traditional characteristics and those contributing to change. The study included 378 Moslem and Christian Arab women from three generations (grandmothers, mothers, and daughters). The findings indicate significant changes: the younger the generation is, the less traditional are the attitudes it holds and the more egalitarian the life of the couple is. The factors found to promote change were the woman’s education, work outside the home, intensive contacts with the Jewish population, and living near Jewish communities. The factor that was found to contribute most to the preservation of traditional patterns is consensual solidarity with the mother.     

The racialization of Arab panethnic identity: exploring students’ ingroup and outgroup social positionings

Islamophobia has become increasingly evident in the sociocultural landscape of the United States. The current political climate which centers on the influx of refugees and concerns of extremists has in effect othered individuals of Arab ancestry as a bounded group. Arab students represent a heterogeneous group of individuals, encompassing a variety of viewpoints that challenge the fixed and static notion of Arab identity. This study utilizes the concept of racialization to explore the ways that a group of Arab students within a predominantly white institution in the southern region were othered through the influence of a negative Arab image. Through case study methodology including interview and observational data, participants explained the multiple ways they were distanced and connected to the dominant group as well as other Arab students. Related to the ways participants navigated dominant norms to establish a sense of belonging, findings reveal that institutional leaders and practitioners need to engage in greater critical reflection to maximize support for marginalized groups.