We asked students to share some thoughts and expectations that they have for this semester’s West Meets Middle East dialogues. Here are some of their responses.
What are some of your thoughts, fears, or expectations? What do you think and what would you like to get out of these conversations?
I'm hoping that we'll find the doorways of deepened conversations so that we can explore in a serious way how our many cultures overlap and intersect and are both different AND similar. I'm expecting that we'll find what we need to build a foundation for some very cool dialogues that can grow and expand this critical conversation that we seem to need. I'm excited and stoked for what is about to happen…
I must say I have high expectations from this class because of all what I have heard from the people who were part of it last spring. Anas has shared a lot of stories with us about the class and mentioned some of the topics that were brought up during the discussions and they all were so interesting to me! I feel that every one of us here in Penn State is a representative of his background, and I know people might judge your background based on your behaviors. Therefore, I think this class is a great way for us to express and share our feelings and thoughts with people who are interested in knowing about the middle-east or Islam. Since I got to Penn state, I had a lot of conversations with Americans about the middle-east, and I must say I was shocked from how ignorant a lot of them were about it. I really hope I can get the chance to meet more of them this semester and clear some of their confusion at least with the help of my classmates. I also hope this class is going to help me improve some of my conversation skills, which is something I have always wanted to work on. Let’s see how all this goes semester.. I feel good about it.
I am really excited about these conversions. This will allow us to open new doors and discover new common grounds that we have and also explore our differences and explain them to find a better understanding of the other. I have done this class once before and it was amazing and now I'm doing it a second time which I think will be more interesting. The reason I say this is because in the previous class we had more time on our hands and we were meeting the same group of people through out the period of the class, but now we are going to have to be more upfront and straight forward because of the lack of time and knowing that this is the only time you are going to be with the same group of students. I know that some of the participants will not be thrilled about the topics introduced during the conversations but that will even give us a better perspective on how different the mind and the social structure works in every ones different and unique situation. The main idea that I want to explore in this class is, Does our lack of knowledge generate the fear and the hatred for the other or is it the controlled knowledge that is thrust upon us through the media that is generating that feeling. The class is going to be way more intense in presenting, discussing, and agreeing on the different topics that will be presented. Ladies and gentleman hold on to your seats this is going to be a wild ride.
First of all, I must say that I'm very thankful to the founders of this class, because I've always wanted to discuss the middle east issues with people who are welling to listen and participate in such a conversation.
conversations like that would really help people from the middle east to explain there culture and backgrounds to others. conversations discussing very sensitive issues better be in an academic atmosphere, therefore, I joined the class.My expectations from this course are to give a better understanding about us and our culture to American student and others, also to listen from them and their pints of view.Also to share the truth that studying abroad is more or less a very tough experience with out even considering any other Barriers.I'm really excited specially after our meeting last week where we discussed a lot of interesting issues and ideas, which I would love to discuss again with more time and details.
I'm very excited to start this class, due to curiosity of what the west think of us and how heated the debates could get once we reach the more sensitive issues. I'm hoping to learn what Americans really think about the Middle East and also clear any false interpretations they have about us. This class is great to express our past experiences with Americans we met, whether in Penn State or not. I have come across many Americans and found out that not all are ignorant and they actually know what is happening, however the majority don’t, which makes this class more interesting and helps us clear their confusion. I also hope many issues about Islam are brought up so we can discuss the matter and explain how the religion is all about peace. I feel at the start there could be a lot of disagreement between both groups, but at the end we'll all understand each other's perspectives. I believe this class will be good not just for the Americans but for me personally, as I will learn how to speak more freely and with more confidence. Im very excited about this class and hope all goes well.
I’m pretty excited for these conversations because I really enjoyed participating the conversations last semester and I am hoping that these conversations will be as good as the ones last semester. In the conversations we did last year we met with the same people once a week for five weeks even though it helped us to understand each other better, I think that the conversations this semester will be more interesting. The reason for that is I think that because we have a limited time people will be blunt and just say what is on their mind. Also I think that because we meet with different people every week, we will have the opportunity to hear different point of views in certain subjects and we will have the chance to have a better understanding of what is misunderstood about the middle east. I am also excited about these conversations because of something I’ve seen last semester. Even though the main purpose of these conversations is to help creating better understanding between east and west, these conversations helps us see that even though we come from similar cultures from middle east we are quite different from each other too. One thing that we learned from the conversations that we learned last semester is that we have to be able to explain even the smallest things as best as we can because in the end those are the things that cause confusion and one of my main fears comes from this. Because I am from Turkey some things are pretty different from the rest of the middle east and when I try to explain these it seems as if I’m trying to say Turkey doesn’t want to be part of the middle east or it is way different from the rest of the middle east. I am hoping that I will be able to explain these differences better than I did last year.
I am very excited to be a part of these discussions because i think i will be able to help add to the conversations. I took SOC 119 last year and we were involved in a similar setting of discussions. I was very interested to hear so many different points and i am sure that i will have an even more interesting experience this time. I agree that it is all about curiosity because i really am curious to listen to their opinions and to understand what makes them think the way they do. In one of the other blogs a girl said that she was looking forward to more disagreements and i am too. I do not want to get into a heated argument but if we do not disagree then there is no point in talking.
I think its important for us to exchange our views so that both sides of the conversation can end the semester with a more balanced view on the topic and maybe encourage their friends to do the same. I understand that they are not coming into the conversation to change their way of thinking but i think that it is important for us to explain our backgrounds and culture so that they can at least fully understand the other side of the argument instead of just the western sides.
To be honest, I only joined this class as a recommendation from a friend and I had no idea what the class was about. I still do not have a 100% clear idea but it is becoming more clear as time passes by. Up to this point, my understanding of this class is that it will explore the similarities and differences between our culture in the Middle East and the western culture here in the United States. So what I am expecting to be the result of this class and all the discussions and conversations that will occur in the future is not to solve any issues, but to raise the awareness and have a better understanding between the two cultures.
Having said that, I am also expecting (and hoping) this class to be a lot of fun! My initial thought was that the conversations will be mostly serious. Now however, I tend to mix my expectations with having fun while discussing about whatever will be brought to the table. This only resulted from reading the previous comments as I saw the excitement in people's words. My only fear is that it will be too serious and the discussions will be heated arguments, however my money is on the fun aspect of the class. So my fingers are crossed!
In the first week of classes, I could not get 15 credits which is the minimum of my scholarship's requirement, so when I saw professor Sam's message about this class as an opportunity to solve my problem. I had one of these discussions last semester while I was taking soc 001 as an extra credit and I thought it was really intense and had a lot of potential for both parties to be educated more about each other. I think it is really fun so far (does not have a lot of requirements and no tests!!) and I hope it will continue this way. And so far we have only had two classes and I did not participate in any of the world in conversation, I do not know what will happen or what we will talk about in these discussions, but I expect more than what happened last semester even though it was intense. I also want to clear all of the misconceptions that Americans have about the Middle East and hope that they do the same thing too. I know that we have to argue about some sensitive things and I hope that we do, but not seriously though. to put this to an end, I expect this class to be interesting and educating and I hope we reach an understanding about each other at the end of these discussion.
This Class is definitely going to be alot of fun. i cant wait to get into all the intense discussion. i am really enjoying it so far and i am expecting to learn alot from it. i think that the Arab world is so different and i might take the approach learning rather than teaching, i have come to find that i know very little about the countries in the middle east and that they also are not that informed about my countries customs ( Kuwait). When i came to Penn state i met so many arabs from so many different countries. we all have alot of things that unify us and that make us smiler but we also have alot of things that are different. the way we deal with certain situations in Kuwait is so different and the way we see things differ from the way other Arabs see them. so in this class i am anticipating to learn alot more about the Arab world and the mind set it works on along with informing the uninformed we come along in our dialogs. i also am hopping to change some of the stereotypes we have about us and work to creating a better environment and clarify alot of things.
When I first heard about the World in Conversation Project’s West Meets Middle East initiative I knew I had to be a part of it. Before attending our first discussing I expected to meet other students also eager to discuss issues concerning our community, such as stereotypes, the media, etc. And after meeting the 13 other Arab and/or Muslim students I found just that, I found a real willingness and desire to share our lives and experiences in this country to each other and to American students who want to learn. Although, West Meets Middle East is still in the early stages of its development as a project I really expect to learn a great deal from it. I not only hope to contribute to this project as much as I can but at the end of the semester I hope to be able to walk away with more insight on my own culture and religion. But most importantly I expect to learn more about what I can do as a Muslim Arab-American to increase discussions between Muslims and non-Muslims and Arabs and non-Arabs and hopefully fade away the misconceptions we have of each other that keep us divided.
I think this is a great opportunity for the American students to meet up with Arab and Muslim students and hear their points of view. I’m mostly excited about hearing the American students speak up and explain to us what they feel. I have a lot of American friends, and I try to ask them about their opinions about certain topics, but I always feel like they are holding back their thoughts and ideas. Maybe it is because they are too scared to offend us or maybe they haven’t even given it a lot of thought. Either ways, this class will provide a safe environment for us to express ourselves and/or an environment that stimulates our thoughts and, maybe, challenges them. I expect to learn a lot, not only from the American students, but also from Arab and Muslim ones. I always get very excited when someone asks me questions about my culture or country, and it doesn’t matter to me if it takes me 3 days to explain a concept as long as I get my point across. Also, I definitely would love to hear their opinion about it. It is very educating to me to know what other people think of my culture, and I cannot wait to go to more discussions.