American Association of Teachers of Arabic (AATA) aims to facilitate communication and cooperation between teachers of Arabic and to promote study, criticism, research and instruction in the field of Arabic language pedagogy, Arabic linguistics and Arabic literature. The information available here is a sampling of the materials available to AATA members. For information on joining, please see the “Membership” link on the right.
From AATA’s President
As the leaves start to change here in the Washington area, we are thinking about our annual AATA meeting and panel, coming up in just five weeks at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in conjunction with the Middle East Studies Association meeting, November 22-25.
Our annual AATA business meeting (open to all members) will be on Saturday, November 22, from 4:00-5:00, right after our specially organized panel “Arabic Heritage Programs in the US: Problems and Solutions,” chaired by Professor Mahmoud Abdalla of Michigan State University.
The cutoff deadline for registering on-line for a special convention rate room at the hotel is October 24, so make sure you register before then.
There are, as always, many interesting and professionally relevant panels to attend at this year’s conference. AATA is cosponsoring the following panels: (Panel 088) Building Arabic Corpora: Needs and Challenges, and (Panel 104) New Directions in Teaching Arabic as a Second Language.
I look forward to seeing you there.
All the best,
Karin Ryding
From AATA's Editor
Dear AATA Members,
As you all know, al-`Arabiyyah has suffered serious delays during my tenure as editor. The two double volumes which will bring us up to date, Volume 38 - 39 (2005 – 2006) and Voume 40 - 41 (2007 - 2008) are currently in final production. I am optimistic that I will have sample copies of both double volumes at the AATA Business Meeting in November.
Unfortunately, postal rates and printing costs have gone through unprecedented increases in the last year. For that reason, the costs, means, and media of continuing the journal must be a topic for the Association at this next meeting. I will offer a detailed report to the board, and the membership during MESA.
I look forward to seeing you at MESA.
Clarissa C. Burt
From AATA’s Executive Director
Dear AATA Members,
Dear AATA Members,
As you make your plans for the Middle East Studies Association meeting in November, please keep the following in mind.
We look forward to seeing you at the AATA Panel, “Arabic Heritage Programs in the US: Problems and Solutions” on Saturday, 22 November, 1.30 – 3.30 p.m. The panel is organized by Mahmoud Abdalla, Michigan State University.
The AATA Business Meeting will follow the panel, 4.00 – 5.00 p.m. Please plan to join your colleagues at the Business Meeting to honor the recipient of the 2008 AATA Lifetime Achievement Award. AATA is pleased to co-sponsor two other activities at this year’s MESA.
AATA is pleased to co-sponsor two panels this year. “Building Arabic Corpora: Needs and Challenges” is co-sponsored with the American University in Cairo. Organized by Zeinab Ahmed Taha, American University in Cairo, this panel takes place on Saturday, 22 November, 5.00 – 7.00 p.m. With the National Middle East Language Resource Center, AATA will co-sponsor a second panel, “New Directions in Teaching Arabic as a Second Language.” This panel is organized by Mahmoud al-Batal, University of Texas, and takes place on Sunday, 23 November, 2.00 - 4.00 p.m.
AATA will also co-sponsor a one-day workshop with the Arabic and Middle East Library of Yale University Library. The workshop, “Managing Arabic Text Digitization Projects,” will help you provide full text access to Arabic language materials on-line. Further details and registration information appear on page 2 of this issue.
For complete information on the AATA Annual Meeting and AATA co-sponsored activities, please see http://mesa.wns.ccit.arizona.edu/annual/meetings.htm.
We look forward to seeing you at MESA
Elizabeth M. Bergman, Ph.D.
Executive Director
Supporting members of AATA
AATA would like to thank Supporting Members for their generosity. The following have become Supporting Members since October 2007:
Sawsan Abbadi, University of Massachusetts
Mahmoud Al-Batal, University of Texas, Austin
Shlomo Alon
Mahdi Alosh, United States Military Academy
Aman Attieh, Swarthmore College
Maher Bahloul, American University of Sharjah
Austin Bell, Islamic American University
John Eisele, College of Wililam and Mary
Annie Higgins
Hisham Khalek, University of Minnesota
Gerald Lampe, NFLC
Jamal Mavrikios, Pacific Arabic Resources
Ernest McCarus, University of Michigan
Ra'ed Qasem
Aleya Rouchdy, Wayne State University
Karin Ryding, Georgetown University
Martha Schulte-Nafeh, University of Arizona
A SOUDI, University Of Pittsburgh
Please consider becoming a Supporting Member of AATA with a donation of at least $25. See the AATA Membership Application (download it at http://aataweb.org/Default.aspx?pageID=11for details.)
Contact Information for AATA
American Association of Teachers of Arabic
3416 Primm Lane
Birmingham, AL 35216
telephone: 205.822.6800
fax: 205.823.2760
For membership, subscription, and administrative questions: info@aataweb.org
For newsletter submissions and other questions: admin@aataweb.org
AATA Lifetime Achievement Award 2007: Dr. Ernest N. McCarus (University of Michigan)
November 17, 2007
AATA Meeting, Montreal
We all know Ernest McCarus well, in view of his extensive contributions to our field and also in view of his leadership of AATA. But there might be some things you don’t know about Ernest.
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Did you know that he got his B.A. in Japanese?
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Did you know that his M.A. is in Spanish?
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Did you know that his Ph.D. is in Linguistics?
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Did you know that he published a grammar of Kurdish 1n 1958?
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Did you know that he was a team captain for Allied Translating and Interpreting Services at Allied Headquarters in Tokyo in WWII?
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Did you know that he was Director of the Foreign Service Institute Arabic Field School in Beirut from 1958-1960?
Of course, you know that he was chair of the Department of Near East Studies at University of Michigan for eight years, from 1969-1977. You know that he was Director of the Center for Arabic Study Abroad (CASA) from 1974-1983. He was also Director of the University of Michigan Center for Middle Eastern and North African Studies from 1983-1992.
Ernest has been the recipient of numerous research awards. These include a Fulbright, a Rockefeller, a Ford, and a National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) grant. He was a founding member of AATA, and the first editor of the AATA Newsletter and Al-Arabiyya.
We all certainly know and appreciate his memorable work in the field of Arabic textbooks. He developed, with his close colleague Peter F. Abboud (University of Texas, Austin) and others, the famous “orange” and “green” book series, Elementary Modern Standard Arabic (EMSA) and Intermediate Modern Standard Arabic (IMSA). He also served as editor of the wonderful series, Contemporary Arabic Readers, published by University of Michigan in the 60's. The series included Newspaper Arabic, Arabic Essays, Formal Arabic, Short Stories, and Modern Arabic Poetry. Other Arabic textbooks have been published since then. These resources, however, set a standard that has not yet been surpassed.
In 2005, Ernest was the recipient of MESA’s Jere L. Bacharach Service Award. It recognized his pioneering contributions in the field, his exemplary leadership, his visionary direction of CASA, and his efforts as a founding member of our organization, the American Association of Teachers of Arabic.
It is with great pride that we of AATA honor him today. Without him, AATA would not be in the position of strength that it is today.
Karin Ryding
Georgetown University
President, AATA