Virtual: 2020 K-12 Summer Seminar, Diversities of the Middle East

While often portrayed by overgeneralized representations in the media, the Middle East is a region full of diversity. This virtual, five-day summer seminar for K-12 teachers will counter monolithic narratives about the Middle East by highlighting the plurality of the region. Through both synchronous and asynchronous sessions, the seminar will address the religious, geographic, ethnolinguistic, economic, and cultural diversity found across the Middle East and North Africa.

Taking place August 3-7, 2020, this seminar will provide interdisciplinary content, teaching strategies, and classroom materials to re-energize teachers before returning to the classroom in the fall. The topics presented are teacher-requested, appropriate across grade levels, and will introduce the vast richness of the region.

The schedule will feature morning and afternoon sessions. All morning sessions will be synchronous and take place from 10:00 – 11:30 am (EDT) on Zoom. Afternoon sessions will feature both synchronous (S) and asynchronous (A) options.

This seminar is FREE and open to any in-service or pre-service teacher, administrator, school support staff. Registering educators are required to attend a combination of at least FIVE synchronous/asynchronous sessions to encourage intensive learning. The schedule allows individual teachers to choose content that interests them most and accommodate individual schedules. Space is limited: please register by August 1, 2020. A certificate documenting completed professional learning hours will be provided to registered teachers.

This seminar is sponsored by the Duke-UNC Consortium for Middle East Studies.

Please contact Emma Harver, Outreach Coordinator, at harver@email.unc.edu with questions.