The University of Pittsburgh's Global Studies Program Receives Fulbright-Hays Grant for Educators to Participate in A Curriculum Development Tour of Egypt

PITTSBURGH-The Global Studies Program within the University Center for International Studies at the University of Pittsburgh has been awarded a grant from the Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad, part of the International Education Programs Service of the U.S. Department of Education. With the goal of helping U.S. educators integrate Islamic culture and history into their curricula, the grant-titled Islam, the West, and the Muslim World-will enhance the participating educators' abilities to offer valuable information in the classroom, design curriculum models for secondary and higher education, and speak about the Islamic world in their communities.

The resulting course work, curriculum models, and publicly available syllabi will be designed to expand academic offerings at a range of education institutions. Seminars will take place before and after the June 24-July 22 Egypt study tour, which was developed in collaboration with South Valley University in Qena and the Program for Dialogue of Civilizations at the Faculty of Economics and Political Science at Cairo University, both in Egypt.

Western Pennsylvania institutions represented in the tour include the University of Pittsburgh, Chatham University, Seton Hill University, Saint Francis University, Saint Vincent College, Slippery Rock University, Northside Urban Pathways Charter School, and Hickory High School.

The Egyptian tour includes visits to three prominent cities. In Luxor, the group will focus on ancient Egypt; in Alexandria, the fusion of East and West from ancient times to the British occupation will be studied; in Cairo, participants will investigate the evolution of religious diversity and the spread of Islam into contemporary society. The tour will include seminars with Egyptian faculty; discussions with religious, cultural, political, and community leaders; visits to historic sites; and attendance at cultural performances.

Pitt's Global Studies Program houses the secretariat of the Consortium for Educational Resources on Islamic Studies (CERIS), a consortium of 24 colleges, universities, and community organizations in eastern Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Contact Elaine Linn for more information at 412-648-2113 and EEL58@ucis.pitt.edu.

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