Finished my Arabic presentation
قِصة مريد البرغوثي, كاتِب فلسطيني
The story of Mourid Al-Bargouti, Palestinian writer.
I hope it's somewhat informative to my classmates, most of which have no desire to continue on with the language. My power point basically tells a generalized version of his life story giving insight to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict from his view as an exiled Palestinian. At the very end of the presentation I give the first sentence from one of his books and its English translation. The point of this is to show how difficult it is to make an exact representation of Arabic in English. This proves the point that my Arab sources have made about how poetry and literature written in Arabic lose their true meaning when translated to English. (So if an English-speaking American ever tells you about what the Quran says, they're actually full of shit cause they don't know.)
Anyway, my Arabic class is a guaranteed A and will be so in the next two levels. After I finish the program at UTEP I'll still have a year or so before I graduate and move on to graduate school. This means that I'll have to continue learning the language through self-directed study to be at the required proficiency for an MA in Middle Eastern studies. It will be a challenge, but one that I am ready to take on.
I have one more final project to tackle - an essay about the effects of Westernization in the indigenous musical styles of Egypt, Bali, and China. This is for my Music History and Culture class. I'll have three finals to take this semester - Arabic, Major World Religions, and U.S. and Texas government. Fun times!
The story of Mourid Al-Bargouti, Palestinian writer.
I hope it's somewhat informative to my classmates, most of which have no desire to continue on with the language. My power point basically tells a generalized version of his life story giving insight to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict from his view as an exiled Palestinian. At the very end of the presentation I give the first sentence from one of his books and its English translation. The point of this is to show how difficult it is to make an exact representation of Arabic in English. This proves the point that my Arab sources have made about how poetry and literature written in Arabic lose their true meaning when translated to English. (So if an English-speaking American ever tells you about what the Quran says, they're actually full of shit cause they don't know.)
Anyway, my Arabic class is a guaranteed A and will be so in the next two levels. After I finish the program at UTEP I'll still have a year or so before I graduate and move on to graduate school. This means that I'll have to continue learning the language through self-directed study to be at the required proficiency for an MA in Middle Eastern studies. It will be a challenge, but one that I am ready to take on.
I have one more final project to tackle - an essay about the effects of Westernization in the indigenous musical styles of Egypt, Bali, and China. This is for my Music History and Culture class. I'll have three finals to take this semester - Arabic, Major World Religions, and U.S. and Texas government. Fun times!