“Navigating a massive city such as Cairo encompasses a wide array of challenges and gender inequalities, from walking in the streets and riding public transportation to dealing with physical and social limitations, as well as the absence of public space. These are all encounters that raise questions about harassment and women's rights. Students should reimagine how this can be different,” said Momen El-Husseiny, assistant professor in the Department of Architecture.
This is what students in the new course, Gender as a Design Lens, sought to do –– find solutions to pressing social challenges such as public space sexual harassment, designing women-only areas in health clubs and mosques, and improving the livability of places on campus and in Cairo.
The course divided students into groups and helped them develop a design thinking exercise, where they reflected on a particular challenge they experienced. Course instructors were El-Husseiny; Helen Rizzo, associate professor of sociology; and Magda Mostafa, professor of design in the Department of Architecture.
“This was a great opportunity to bring these fields together in conversation with gender studies and expose the students to design thinking,” said Rizzo, explaining how Cairo's complex problems require interdisciplinary solutions.
Mostafa hopes the course broadens student understanding of the role gender identity plays in multiple facets. “Academic disciplines engage with the notion of gender in different ways and at different levels,” she said. “For example, biology works to try and find quantifiable measures rooted in science that define gender. Sociology engages with gender as a social construct, and design engages with gender as user experiences and identities. The more students understand and can engage in multiple understandings of gender and its correlation with problem solving, the better they will be equipped to make a meaningful, equitable and just impact on the world.”
This multidisciplinarity enabled students to approach projects with a structured and methodical approach. “I was introduced to various concepts related to gender and design, which broadened my understanding of the subject matter and its impact on society,” said Heidi Mohamed, mechanical engineering senior. “But the most thrilling aspect of the course was collaborating with students from diverse academic backgrounds and conducting interviews with individuals on campus whom I may not have had the opportunity to interact with otherwise.”
Maureen Salama, sociology senior, found value in learning that there isn’t a single way to develop a good solution for a given situation. “Empathy allowed us to consider as many people as possible and thus create more inclusive designs,” she said. “However, it’s important to remember that as time goes by, the way stakeholders interact with a design implemented may change over time. We see this happen often when small changes are made to spaces we use daily or the redesign of entire physical spaces.”
The course covered various topics, including gender, access and a sense of safety in public space; mapping gender and public space in the AUC campus and Cairo; gender through a biological lens; and women and mosque design. The course also featured prominent guest speakers. “Each guest lecturer brought their expertise and thus allowed for conversations to go in ways I wouldn’t necessarily expect,” said student Maureen Salama.
El-Husseiny hopes this course empowers students to break norms, barriers and taboos while engaging in problem solving given the existing social, cultural and economic constraints. “Together, we can develop a meaningful, purposeful, effective and sustainable change,” he said. “Cairo is a mosaic of interrelated fields, and we need to enable our students to be well equipped with a future that will be more dynamic and interdisciplinary.”
Students from AUC and Georgetown University collaborated on a joint course last spring exploring Egyptian cultural heritage and the role that organizations and governments play in protecting and preserving history.
“Egypt has such a long history, and it is a country at the forefront of showcasing its history and heritage to its own people and tourists,” stated Rochelle Davis (YAB ‘88, ‘89, CASA ‘92), associate professor at Georgetown’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service. “As a former year-abroad student and Center for Arabic Study Abroad fellow at AUC, I knew the caliber of teaching here, and it seemed like an exciting connection to make with Georgetown students.”
Egypt is a natural choice for exploring cultural heritage. The country has seven properties inscribed on UNESCO’s world heritage list, from Saint Catherine in the Sinai Peninsula to Abu Simbel in the south near Sudan’s border. Additionally, there are 34 sites on the organization’s tentative list. 
But what constitutes cultural heritage?
Culture and heritage are abstract concepts, which makes the process of defining a specific property as “cultural heritage” difficult. This course aimed to understand who gets to decide what is cultural heritage and what social and political implications these decisions have.
“Cultural heritage doesn’t just exist as such — It exists, but has to acquire the label of ‘“cultural heritage’” — part of what we will investigate is how the cultural heritage categorization goes through processes of codification and adoption,” reads the course description. “Global, national, and local agendas and efforts are part of these processes, as are international bodies and law, as well as state and civil society agendas.”
By providing an academic framework to this abstract question, the class asked students to address the roles of tourism and museums, changing environments and climate change, political forces, wars, ideologies and how people advocate for or against defining specific places as cultural heritage.
Bahia Shehab (MA ’09), professor of practice in AUC’s Department of the Arts and course leader, emphasized the courses experiential learning opportunities, such as museum visits, concerts and lectures from Egyptian visionaries — like architect May Al-Ibrahsy and Professor Hoda Elsadda, co-founder of the Women and Memory forum. “We wanted to expose students to culture in Egypt and the Arab world from different perspectives,” she said, “in hopes that they would understand how rich and multifaceted Arab culture is.”
For the students, “The course provided a platform for comparing cultures on a more comprehensive and relevant level,” reflected Nour Hassan ‘23, a graphic design major. “With the Georgetown students, we were able to delve further into our culture and see it from the perspective of an outsider.”
The course culminated in a two-part final project. Georgetown students produced a grant proposal asking for funding to protect a certain cultural heritage project. AUC students then turned the proposal into a visual pitch booklet that aims to entice an external organization to invest in the project.
In addition to a written project, Georgetown students also visited Egypt to see these cultural heritage properties in person. “The trip was fantastic,” stated Davis. “Egyptians are legendary for their warmth and generosity and it was so wonderful for my students to experience that.”
Photos courtesy of Rochelle Davis
The first international survey of work by the late Armenian-Egyptian studio photographer Van Leo is currently on display in the Hammer Museum at the University of California, Los Angeles as a collaboration between the museum and AUC’s Rare Books and Special Collections Library, which holds the Van Leo collection, with additional collaborative support from the Arab Image Foundation in Beirut. Becoming Van Leo is showing until November 5 and includes ephemera and some photographs printed from negatives for the first time.
“This exhibition at the Hammer Museum is the highest-profile showing of Van Leo's work to date — a retrospective of his art and life — and therefore brings international attention both to Van Leo's work and legacy but also the tremendous holdings of the Rare Books and Special Library at AUC,” said Negar Azimi, the exhibition’s curator.
Three years prior to his death, in 1998, Van-Leo bequeathed his collection to AUC, where it has since been housed at the Rare Books and Special Collections Library. Last year, AUC celebrated the artist’s 100th birthday with a first-of-its-kind 3D exhibit, and this year, it has partnered with the Hammer Museum on Becoming Van Leo.
"Over the past decades, the AUC Library has been keen to partner with museums and reputable organizations across the globe, including Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris, Brighton Photo Biennial and Deutsche Architecktur-Museum in Frankfurt," said Lamia Eid '82, '92, interim dean of AUC's Libraries and Learning Technologies. "Our aim has been to be a key partner in the creation of innovative exhibitions, using the rich and unique collections of AUC's Rare Books and Special Collections Library. I’m positive that the Becoming Van Leo exhibit is a resounding success, bringing together people who appreciate the significance of Van Leo’s unique work. It is surely a celebration of a great photographer and a testament of collaborative efforts by team members from both AUC and the Hammer Museum."
As stated on the Becoming Van Leo webpage, “The exhibition traces Van Leo’s career from his earliest encounters with the camera in the 1930s, in which he used friends and family as models, through his experiments in self-portraiture of the 1940s and 1950s, and onward to his studio work, which extended into the 1990s.” The exhibition also includes Van Leo’s personal items, including letters, books, magazine clippings, personal notes, immigration forms to the United States and Canada, bills, correspondence with girlfriends, applications to the Art Center School in Los Angeles, a video interview by the artist Akram Zaatari and a series of never-before-seen 16mm films of the artist’s family.
“It is extraordinary to have access to not only an artist’s work but also his ‘life scraps,’ which is to say the tremendous well of ephemera that Van Leo amassed and kept, from letters to business cards to childhood mementos,” said Azimi. “Van Leo was a complicated, compelling artist who in many ways was ahead of his time. His work belies facile distinctions between art and craft, East and West.”
Becoming Van Leo has been described in the media as “compelling and deeply personal,” and visitors to the exhibition have been “very enthusiastic,” as Azimi noted.
Behind-the-scenes work was "a complex process that involved countless hours of communication, discussion, planning and preparations by members of both institutions," said Eid. "Sharing collections from AUC's Rare Books and Special Collections Library, reaching out to different communities, engaging visitors, promoting Egyptian culture and heritage beyond AUC, furthering research and scholarship, and enriching the visitor experience are critical goals that we constantly strive to achieve."
As Ann Philbin, director of the Hammer Museum, noted, “This exhibition is an opportunity to introduce Van Leo’s extraordinary oeuvre to people outside Cairo, where his archive is housed, and to take a more in-depth look at his influences and impact. Dedicated to working in black and white film, Van Leo’s photographs are dramatic, moving, and through his lens, the ordinary became extraordinary.”
Photos courtesy of the Hammer Museum
“Students and faculty can learn a lot from international exchange and collaboration,” says Amina Elbendary ’96, ’00, associate professor and director of graduate studies in AUC’s Department of Arab and Islamic Civilizations. “From looking at familiar things with a different perspective to discovering new cultures, researching in a collaborative and comparative manner allows you to see similarities and differences that you would not have noticed otherwise.”
Elbendary and Ghada El-Shimi, dean of Undergraduate Studies, are co-principal investigators of the Global Scholars Achieving Career Success (GSACS) at AUC, which connects universities in the MENA region with schools from City University of New York to engage in collaborative online international learning focused on the UN Sustainable Development Goals and career readiness skills. Over the past two years, AUC has offered 14 virtual exchange partnerships with CUNY colleges, and a total of 304 AUC students have participated.
As the program draws to a close this year, News@AUC interviewed students and faculty from AUC and CUNY to hear about how the program expanded their learning horizons.
A major component of the GSACS program is connecting students from different backgrounds to encourage cross-cultural exchange and learning. These classes allow students to broaden their understanding of their peers overseas while developing a deeper appreciation of their own homes.
“This program allows students to tackle questions about important global issues in dialog with their international peers. They learn about how a specific issue is experienced by real people in their own and partner countries. At the same time, they develop new insights on their culture and identity,” states Olga Aksakalova, professor of English at LaGuardia Community College, CUNY, and principal investigator of the program.
Students were encouraged to explore the ways social inequalities shaped their local communities and compare them to other cities. “The GSACS module was a great opportunity to work with people from New York and to put all of our ideas together in a project,” says one AUC student. “I learned about how people who live in different countries think and how inequalities there may be happening because of different or similar reasons as here in Egypt.”
For the professors, these courses offered insight into how students learn from one another and develop more nuanced understandings of different cultures. “Many students at CUNY are immigrants or the children of immigrants and many work in addition to school. This gave students at AUC an opportunity to get a more realistic vision of America than what is seen in movies,” says Yasmine Ahmed (MA ‘07), assistant professor in the Core Curriculum office who co-taught multiple courses, including a class on social class and inequality.
This program also encouraged students to be aware of the international implications of climate change and sustainable development. Lamees Fadl, Arabic instructor at CUNY, taught a course during which students created Arabic and English information pamphlets that spread awareness about the importance of water sustainability.
“In addition to teaching about sustainability, we also wanted to ensure that our Arabic language students could communicate about a wide array of topics, like politics, climate change or other international issues,” explains Fadl.
In addition to cultural exchange, learning how to work within an international team was an important aspect of the program for both students and faculty.
“Students enhanced their career-readiness skills in intercultural communication, critical thinking, cross-cultural teamwork and the ability to adapt to diverse environments,” states Schiro Withanachchi, principal investigator of the GSACS program at Queens College, CUNY. “GSACS was a unique experience that promoted equity in global learning.”
“It was a very useful and unique experience to have the opportunity to work with people from different parts of the world and get different perspectives,” says one AUC student.
In addition to coursework, facilitating the program also required significant international cooperation. “A big lesson we took away as faculty is that learning in an international collaborative setting requires strong structural support and an efficient match-making process,” says Elbendary. “Pairing faculty with both common interests and complementary sensibilities, in addition to ensuring proper flexibility for time zone differences, was incredibly important. Who is implementing the program makes all the difference.”
After a successful two years of connecting cultures, the GSACS program has completed its run. While this particular partnership will no longer be running, both universities have gained important insight on running international collaborations and the importance of facilitating learning across borders.
“Administering GSACS has led to other opportunities for our university, including collaborating with community colleges at CUNY, streamlining virtual exchange training and expanding partners in Europe and Asia,” says Withanachchi.
“I am happy and proud of the program's overall success,” concludes Elbendary. “ I feel that together we provided a strong AUC contribution. But most importantly, I was incredibly proud of the results shown during the different student conferences, which highlighted the quality of our students' abilities.”
GSACS is supported by the Stevens Initiative, which is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. government and administered by the Aspen Institute. The Stevens Initiative is also supported by the Bezos Family Foundation and the governments of Morocco and the United Arab Emirates.
The Stevens Initiative is an international leader in virtual exchange, which brings young people from diverse places together to collaborate and connect through everyday technology. Created in 2015 as a lasting tribute to Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens, the Initiative invests in virtual exchange programs; shares research, resources, and promising practices to improve impact; and advocates for broader adoption. By summer 2023, the Stevens Initiative will reach nearly 75,000 young people around the world. Learn more:https://www.stevensinitiative.org/
The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) builds relations between the people of the U.S. and the people of other countries through academic, cultural, sports, professional and private exchanges, as well as public-private partnerships and mentoring programs. These exchange programs improve foreign relations and strengthen the national security of the U.S., support U.S. international leadership and provide a broad range of domestic benefits by helping break down barriers that often divide us. Visiteca.state.gov.
The Aspen Institute is a global nonprofit organization committed to realizing a free, just and equitable society. Founded in 1949, the Institute drives change through dialogue, leadership and action to help solve the most important challenges facing the United States and the world. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the Institute has a campus in Aspen, Colorado, and an international network of partners. For more information, visitwww.aspeninstitute.org.
Tackling social, environmental and economic issues, the 20 plus projects for this year’s Graphic Design Senior Show explore the concerns graduating seniors have for the world they are entering.
The exhibition, Under CTRL, reflects on student experiences learning during COVID-19 lockdowns, anxieties over competing with artificial intelligence for creative work and more. Curated by Nagla Samir, associate professor of practice and director of the graphic design program, the exhibition is open daily from 9 am to 4 pm in the Sharjah Art Gallery at AUC New Cairo.
News@AUC caught up with three students to learn more about their projects.
Alia Ibrahim - double major, graphic design and film
“It is very rare to meet people who are very passionate about what they do and who truly want to innovate their craft and profession, let alone a whole street full of them.”
Khayami is a mobile application that aims to connect Cairo’s Souq Al Khayamiya (tentmakers market) with consumers in Egypt and beyond. The application celebrates the souq (market) and the craft by shedding light on its history and sharing the experiences of the khayami men who work there.
Inspiration
Street Markets in Cairo do not get the recognition they deserve even though they are considered a very important pillar of Egyptian culture and heritage. I wanted to help shed light on these souqs, starting with one of the most historical souqs in Egypt, Souq Al Khayamiya. The khayamiya craft has always occupied a big part of my life, as I grew up in a house that celebrated khayamiya in many ways.
Exploring the souq and meeting the tentmakers was one of the most enriching experiences I have ever been through. I learned a lot from them by talking with them about their passion for khayamiya, their stories and their work ethic. This project has always been more than a graduation project for me, as building relationships with the khayami men and learning more about them emotionally connected me to the souq and the project. I wanted to do all that I could to help them.
This project has been by far the closest one to my heart and the one I enjoyed working on the most in my academic journey as a graphic design major. The khayami men’s passion for the craft inspired my passion to help them and give this project my all. I am truly grateful to have met them and learned about them and their beautiful craft.
Malak Hesham - double major, graphic design and integrated marketing communication
Kham, which means raw in Arabic, is a plant-based, biodegradable natural dye that serves as an environmentally friendly alternative to synthetic dyes. It is developed with nanotechnology to prevent color bleeding, local plants for rich and raw colors and essential oils for a long-lasting aroma. Turmeric and karkade were selected due to their rich pigmentation and natural properties, as well as their being easily accessible in Egypt.
Inspiration
Plants and their distinct characteristics have been a longstanding interest of mine. Exploring Egypt’s botanical gardens made me aware of the environmental impact of plant waste, which led me to focus on finding innovative ways to reuse discarded plant materials. Through my research in this field, I discovered the potential of plant pigments and their many applications in various industries.
I am thankful for the opportunity to work on this project at AUC where I had access to all the necessary resources and facilities. I am particularly grateful to my supervisor and mentor, Professor Ghalia El Srkabi, whose guidance and support were invaluable throughout the project. Additionally, Professor Wael Mamdouh provided crucial supervision and direction, leveraging his expertise in the field to help me navigate some of the more challenging aspects of the project. I would also like to acknowledge Razan Farrag for her contributions in the chemistry lab, which were essential to the success of the project. It has been a tremendous learning experience for me and I am grateful for the opportunity. It has been an incredible opportunity for growth and learning, and I am excited to see where it leads me next.
Nada Elkhadem
Victrix is a safe platform dedicated to “Her” and her athletic achievements. It brings awareness to the struggles facing women athletes in the Arab region, including lack of coverage and funding. The platform is displayed on Instagram through collectable cards and videos, as well as fun, interactive games.
Inspiration
As a former athlete and an active sports enthusiast, I aspire to support “her” in athletics and admire her efforts to take on sports professionally. It’s safe to say that “she” has been underappreciated and underestimated for many years in sports, hiding in the shadow of men. I believe “she” as an athlete has gone through a lot of discrimination and injustice for trying to pursue her athletic dream, and it's time to lay it all out on the table.
I know this project may seem like more of a women empowerment campaign; and some male figures may call me a feminist — I have already come across many while working on this project. I am not saying that men do not support women in sports. This project mainly aims to voice the troubles these athletes go through (specifically in the Arab region) and represent them in a bolder; and more vibrant method, growing “her” fan base and encouraging people to maintain the idea of “her” in sports as a normal standard in athletic excellence.
Violence has erupted in Sudan as the two major militarized groups, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), have gone head-to-head in civilian-populated areas. With casualties rising and no resolution in sight, News@AUC interviewed two faculty members from the Department of Sociology, Egyptology and Anthropology, Assistant Professor and Associate Researcher Amira Ahmed and Assistant Professor Manuel Schwab, to explain the conflict, its impact on Sudanese citizens and what the international community can do to help.
Causes of Conflict
The current fighting is the culmination of decades of turmoil in Sudan, but its most recent causes can be traced to Sudan’s 2019 revolution, which toppled former President Omar al-Bashir and briefly replaced him with a civilian government.
“The Sudanese people were aspiring to remove a military fascist regime that had governed the country for 30 years,” explains Ahmed, who is a daughter of Sudanese immigrants living in Egypt. “Al-Bashir originally legally recognized the RSF to suppress rebellions on his behalf, but the leader of the RSF turned against al-Bashir when the revolution began.”
The 2019 revolution was successful in deposing al-Bashir but left a power vacuum in its wake. A civilian government ruled briefly but was quickly sidelined by the RSF and the SAF. While the two groups had collaborated to bring down the former regime, governing the country afterward proved controversial.
“The RSF was supposed to be integrated into the SAF, which would have created a unified army. That was Omar al Bashir’s plan to maintain power,” says Schwab. “But the integration was not completed by the time he was removed, leaving two groups competing for control who eventually turned on one another.
This scramble for power has proven catastrophic for Sudan as violence rules in the capital, Khartoum, and fighting is spreading throughout the country. The death toll on May 9 had risen to 604 according to the UN health agency. However, an accurate number of casualties may be higher due to complications with reporting. The severity of the conflict reminds some of the genocide in Darfur in 2003, during which the RSF killed between 80,000 and 400,000 people and displaced nearly 3 million at the orders of al-Bashir.
Power of the People
This echo of history raises the question: After the successful, civilian-led revolution in 2019, how has the country descended into levels of chaos that have not been witnessed since 2003?
“The revolution in 2019 showed the incredible organizing capacity, tenacity, commitment and grassroots solidarity of Sudan,” states Schwab. “I believe Sudan is a place where the power has always been with the people. Unfortunately, the force has always been with the militaries and these groups took over the revolution for their own goals.”
The citizens of Sudan are keenly aware of the role of these armed forces in destabilizing their country. “The Sudanese people are calling for the SAF to go back to the barracks and the RSF to be dissolved,” Ahmed explains. “The people want a democratic civilian government, but first they need the violence to stop.”
Human Impact
According to the United Nations, there are currently 4.3 million people in South Sudan who need humanitarian assistance, but the raging violence is making it difficult for supplies to be distributed. Additionally, nearly 2.3 million refugees from South Sudan are currently displaced and 63% of these refugees are children.
“People are dying from more than just bullets and bombs,” says Ahmed. “They are dying from a lack of food, medicine and water. They are dying from preventable diseases or injuries because their hospitals have been destroyed or occupied by armed forces.”
Egypt is a major location for Sudanese refugees to flee to, but supporting them is a difficult task. Ahmed and Schwab attempted to create a GoFundMe campaign to generate funds for arriving refugees, but the campaign was suspended within 72 hours. According to Ahmed and Schwab, this Is symptomatic of the financial distrust that is directed at Sudan.
Sanctions Are Not a Solution
“I will never understand why the international community does not pay attention to the terrible effects of financial and goods-based sanctioning on the Sudanese people,” says Schwab. “There is no evidence that sanctions have any influence on the decisions of these gold-rich governing elites, but there is plenty of evidence that they do real harm to civilians.”
According to Schwab, there is a contradiction between two cornerstones of international relationships with Sudan since it gained independence. The international community executes harsh sanctions to pressure the regime by squeezing its citizens while simultaneously providing humanitarian aid that is meant to offer relief. Together, the two produce a situation in which scarcity and need can be manipulated by various actors, international or domestic, leaving the people of Sudan to pay the price.
This allows the international community to appear invested in solving the problem, without addressing the core issue: International policy regards Sudan as a security problem, not a human catastrophe.
“International powers all see Sudan as a security threat, so they are more interested in ensuring stability than creating long-lasting peace. They want to back the right warlord who will keep Sudan managed, not help the Sudanese people build a civilian democracy,” he says.
The Way Forward
“We have to rethink the way the international community treats Sudan and must listen to the voices of Sudanese people,” says Ahmed. “We need to find a way to stop the violence, but allowing either the SAF or the RSF to rule the country will only lead to a military dictatorship. That may answer the security problem, but it won’t help bring peace to the people.”
Additionally, humanitarian aid needs to be expanded and sanctions rescinded, Schwab recommends. “We need to open up more channels for humanitarian aid alongside corridors of mobility for people to escape. We also need to communicate to our home governments that we do not support sanctions as a solution,” he says.
“Don’t forget Sudan,” Ahmed concludes. “Sudanese people are some of the most politically engaged in the world, but they need the safety and opportunity to build a peaceful future."
