Profile of the week: Ahmad Alqassas and Elham Alzoubi

by Anastasia Vladmirova

by Name Coskun. Ahmad Alqassas

In order to fill the vacancy left by Pauline Sadek last semester, Ahmad Alqassas and Elham Alzoubi, a married couple from Jordan, came to teach in the Arabic department. The Arabic instructors are currently teaching diverse courses at Earlham. They are dedicated and always put themselves into their work, not only because it is their passion, but also for the benefit of the community.

Alqassas and Alzoubi met while getting their master’s degrees at Yarmouk University in Jordan. After their marriage, the two moved to Bloomington, where Alqassas worked toward his PhD in linguistics and Middle Eastern Studies at Indiana University.

“I also had [a] background in literature and linguistics. I like linguistics and I have always wanted to teach linguistics in school, so my degree is in linguistics with the focus in Arabic,” said Alqassas.

Alzoubi feels strongly about teaching languages as well. “It was my plan. I started literature and linguistics in the beginning and then I applied for my higher education to get my master’s and I was thinking all the time about teaching, so it was my dream,” said Alzoubi.

“When it came to the point of writing the dissertation, Earlham hired us,” said Alqassas. The Arabic program at Earlham has been developing since their arrival to the college. Both professors are fond of Earlham and believe that their positions help bring valuable input to the college’s language program.

by Name Coskun. Elham Alzoubi

Alqassas and Alzoubi see aiding the development of the Middle Eastern Studies program as their main goal. “We came from the department which was really strong at the University of Indiana, and we hope to develop the program here,” said Alzoubi. “I can’t compare it to other languages [here at Earlham], because it is like a newborn program,” said Alzoubi. She believes that they will have to work hard in order to make the Arabic program as developed as other language programs at Earlham.

In the Fall 2012, Alzoubi is going to teach a course in Arabic literature and Levantine Arabic. According to Alzoubi, students will not need to have knowledge of the Arabic language in order to take the class in Arabic Literature. She sees it as a great opportunity for the students to get acquainted with literary works in Arabic.

In addition to upper level Arabic classes, Alqassas teaches courses such as Arabic Language, sociolinguistics and Arabic and Media.

“We wish to see the Middle Eastern program grow more and more,” said Alzoubi and Alqassas. They think the program is important because it will prepare students for living in countries in the Middle East and working towards peace there. A more developed program will also attract more students interested in Middle Eastern studies to Earlham.

According to Alqassas, the Middle Eastern program at Earlham has a special mission – to work for peace in the Middle East. “The mission itself is related to us geographically.” Both Alzoubi and Alqassas have a personal connection to this mission because of their connection to Jordan. Alqassas believes that in order to achieve the mission, faculty and students  should work together in order to improve the Middle Eastern program.

They also emphasize the importance of the Jordan program as a part of this mission. “We do enjoy seeing students going to our country, showing them the culture that we love, the culture that we appreciate,” said Alqassas.

One of the main achievements of the instructors’ efforts is the new opportunity for those students interested specifically in Middle Eastern studies to design their own major. Both professors believe it is a huge step forward that makes the Arabic program stronger.

Alqassas and Alzoubi are planning to stay at Earlham as long as possible. Alzoubi said, “We like that people here are friendly and we feel comfortable in this environment.”

Anastasia Vladmirova is an undeclared first year and may be reached at avladi11@earlham.edu.