Teaching

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Saudi Arabia through the Eyes of Its People (Fall 2022), syllabus (pdf)

BA seminar: The course introduces Saudi society through the eyes of its people: Saudi academics, youth, women, social activists, intellectuals, artists, migrants, and the marginalized. Every course session centers on one primary source (a YouTube clip, a literary text, a petition, an interview, a tweet, an art installation, a film, etc.). Through diverse primary materials together with selected writings about the kingdom, the course introduces students to key debates in contemporary Saudi Arabia.

Introduction to the Arab States of the Gulf (Spring 2022), syllabus (pdf)

BA lecture open to select MA students: The Arab Gulf states have moved from the margins of the Arab world towards its center, shaping a distinct Khaleeji identity. This course goes beyond headlines of the strategic and geopolitical importance of the region, by offering an in-depth perspective on local histories, cultures, and the societies of the Arab Gulf states.

The American University in Cairo

Arab Society (Spring 2020, Fall 2019, two sections), syllabus (pdf)

BA seminar: What is the social basis for Arab unity? Within the so-called ‘Arab world’, existing social structures create immense stratifications between different groups of people based on class, sectarian, gender and ethnic differences. This course critically deconstructs the concept ‘Arab society’, through drawing on theories of race and ethnicity, nation and nationalism, class and gender, Orientalism and the representation of culture.

Social Constructions of Difference: Race, Class, Gender (Spring 2020, Fall 2019, Spring 2019, Fall 2018), syllabus (pdf)

BA seminar: First, the course introduces students to the theoretical literature on the concepts of race, class and gender from sociology and anthropology. Second, the course encourages students to shift focus away from looking at different cultures to analyzing cultural productions of difference in the context of Arab societies.

Social Problems of the Middle East: From Charity to Social Change? (Spring 2019)

BA seminar: The course introduces students to the rich traditions of Islamic charity and the multiple forms which it assumes in the contemporary Middle East. In light of heated debates and criticism articulated towards charity, the course examines the challenges and the potential of charity to make a positive contribution towards the manifold social problems of the Middle East.

Arab Youth: Hopes, Realities, Future? (Spring 2019)

BA seminar: In this course, we move beyond the politics of representation of Arab youth, in order to explore the everyday lifeworlds and practices of youth in the Middle East.

Development Agencies (Fall 2018)

BA seminar: The course examines the various agencies active in the field of development. It investigates how these organizations, such as NGOs, state bureaucracy and international development organizations, shape the process of development in the Arab world.

Civil Society Revisited: Studying Community Organizations, Charities and NGOs in the Arab World (Fall 2018)

BA seminar: The course explores the concept of civil society and its usefulness as an analytical tool for the study of the contemporary Arab world.

Freie Universität Berlin

Von Almosengabe bis Entwicklungszusammenarbeit – Wohltätigkeit von Muslimen aus Islamwissenschaftlicher Perspektive (From Alms to Development – Studying Benevolent Practices of Muslims) (Summer 2012)

BA seminar: A research-oriented seminar that encouraged students to conduct small research projects on Islamic benevolent practices.

Entwürfe und Gegenentwürfe von Herrschaft in den arabischen Golfmonarchien (Narratives and Counternarratives of Hegemony and Sovereignty in the Arab Gulf Monarchies) (Winter 2011/12)

Graduate tutorial: The course assisted students in locating and carefully translating Arabic primary texts, which manifest or challenge hegemony in the Arab states of the Gulf.

Islam and the West: Transcending the Dichotomy (Summer 2009)

Undergraduate Course: International Summer School of Freie University Berlin (FUBiS), I was seminar assistant to Dr. Aydin Suer. By taking a deconstructive perspective, the course questions essentialist ideas of Islam and the West and examines processes of identity construction.

Effat University (Jeddah, Saudi Arabia)

German as a Foreign Language (Winter 2009/10), undergraduate course.

Teacher Training

  • Workshop: Israel and the Middle East: Teaching the Middle East Conflict, 10-day program, organized by the Moshe Dayan Center at the Tel Aviv University, July 2022.
  • Semester course (fall 2018): Teaching Enhancement Certificate I, Center for Learning and Teaching at the American University in Cairo, topics included: teaching in a liberal arts institution, designing courses that inspire and engage, assessment for learning, experiential learning/ lining the classroom to real life, syllabus design.
  • Course: Blackboard Build your Course, Center for Learning and Teaching at the American University in Cairo, January 27, 2019.
  • Course: Design for Active Student Engagement and Participation, Teaching Advancement Program, Center for Learning and Teaching, the American University in Cairo, November 6, 2018.
  • Workshop: Lehren und Lernen: Hochschuldidaktische Grundlagen (Teaching and Learning: Pedagogy in Higher Education), October, 22-23, 2012, workshop by Martin Mürmann, Dahlem Research School, Freie Universitaet Berlin.