Dr. Khalil Al-Qatawneh

Visiting Lecturer Writes of his Experiences in U.S.

Posted on May 30, 2008 - Permalink
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Dr. Khalil Al-Qatawneh, a visiting professor in the foreign languages department, has documented his travels as part of his BSC exchange experience, which he said was truly educational.

Dr. Al-Qatawneh came to BSC to teach in September 2007 from Jordan's Tafila Technical University, where he was an assistant professor of English. The experience, he said, taught him that exchange programs at all levels of education are important steps to reaching cultural understanding, instead of relying on media messages, which can promote distorted views of different cultures.

"This is what we need," he said. "This is how we get the right impressions of people."

During his two semesters at BSC, Dr. Al-Qatawneh documented his experiences in two separate articles. The first, "A Trip to Boston," details the initial ups and downs he felt from the cultural transition he went through in coming to live in the U.S. from the Middle East.

The second article "America: Capitals and Towers" details his travels to capital cities in the eastern U.S., and sheds light on the idea of what he calls "metaphorical" places, such as New York City, which many view as the capital of human freedom.

The first article has already been published, and both will appear in the Al-Hareth Journal, a publication he founded and served as editor in chief for at TTU.

Dr. Al-Qatawneh taught several courses at BSC, including Arabic. He said he saw his students improve in their understanding the language, and also witnessed during his time in the States what he called a growing cultural equality.

"Though we are different, we have a lot of similarities, especially when it comes to the feelings of pain and joy," he said.

In July, BSC faculty members will travel to Jordan to attend a TTU educational conference to exchange ideas, present research papers and meet professionals from different cultures. Dr. Al-Qatawneh said the conference will serve as an opportunity for him and TTU professors to offer BSC faculty members as beneficial an experience as they gave him.

"We are ready to treat them the way they treated us here," he said. (Rob Matheson, Office of Institutional Communications.)