Arab-American Educational Foundation Center for Arab Studies

Congratulations to CAS Program Director and alumnus Dr. Patrick Higgins, who is now an Associate Editor at Middle East Critique, one of the top peer reviewed scholarly journals for the study of West Asia and North Africa.

Eid Mubarak from the AAEF Center for Arab Studies!

We congratulate our graduate student Zahra Tavana for receiving the English 1301 Outstanding Graduate Teaching Award at the 2026 Honors Day in the Department of English. Zahra adds this honor to her university-wide Teaching Excellence Award, which she won last year!

CAS congratulates our Associate Student Dr. Priscilla JudsonWallace on her graduation after successfully defending her dissertation "Claudia Jones and the Black Radical Tradition: A Global Analysis." Her examiners were her advisor, Dr. David McNally, along with Drs. Tshepo Chery, Pratik Chakrabarti, and James Parisot.

Congratulations to our valued undergraduate students of the Arabic Language and Middle East Studies as they wrap up their semester today. A special shout out to those who stopped by the CAS office to be honored for their outstanding performances over the past academic year: Noor Karn, Cadence Babineaux, Noor El-Gendy, Amman Dhanani, Ibrahim Tayyan, Abeer Alqadi, Hanein Al-Maliki, and Hussain Rangwala. We're proud of you!

Listen up to "Palestine, Communism and the National Question, 1920-1955," where CAS Associate Student Mohamad Kadan on the Reimagining Soviet Georgia podcast, discussing the emergence of Marxism and Communism in Palestinian political life following the 1948 Nakba. Mohamad takes us on a deep dive into how Zionism and imperialism shaped Marxist theory and Communist organization in the Palestinian context. Link here: https://reimaginesovietgeorgia.substack.com/p/episode-67-palestine-communism-and?utm_id=97758_v0_s00_e232_tv2_tp2_a1dennhb2353rh&fbclid=IwY2xjawRpqTlleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFKYlFQTXl4T2FkcVZVUXRFc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHkRY1aY4MDq8DEfXAdl-wpS-fkPOuRwgoBvG70Fr7cnSQFvoBTwx5S2Ad-0n_aem_ytzxOlTAFxztageLbMQlTg

Houston! Check out "Naji al Ali Exhibition: A tribute to artist Naji Al Ali," presented by the Palestinian American Cultural Center at Match Midtown Arts and Theater Center until May 9. See Match's website for special programming in relation to the exhibition, including film screenings and vital panel discussions. Link here: https://matchouston.org/events/2026/naji-al-ali-exhibition

All AAEF-CAS community is warmly invited to "[In]Visibility: Identity and Endurance Brought to Light," an exhibition emerging from Dr. Lacy Murphy's seminar, Art & Identity in the Arab World and Iran: From the Modern Era to Today. It features new work by five current MFA students.

The exhibition opens with a reception on Friday, May 8 at 5:00 PM in Gallery 1 at Elgin Street Studios (on UH's campus). We hope you will join!

CAS congratulates Dr. Rand Khalil for passing her dissertation defense and joining the growing list of alumni of whom we are endlessly proud! Dr. Khalil's dissertation, titled "The Afterlives of the Nakba in Contemporary Palestinian Culture," explores how Palestinian women writers and filmmakers reimagine the Nakba in their work.

(The photograph, taken by Nasser Ishtayeh, depicts Mahfouza Odeh hugging an olive tree that was cut down by Israeli settlers in the Palestinian town of Salim.)

As we close out , CAS wants to remind you of our growing Arab history collection, available to all interested students. Come visit us on campus anytime to peruse our collection!

Pictured here is "Whispers in Exile," a poetry collection written by Alexander Odeh, who was the West Coast regional director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) when he was assassinated in a bombing in Santa Ana, California. For more information about his life and death, look out for this year's investigative documentary "Who Killed Alex Odeh?" by Jason Osder and William Lafi Youmans, which is currently making the rounds on the film festival circuit. With our mission, we seek to do our part honoring Odeh's work and legacy.

My hometown Jifna…
A peaceful village that lies
in the shadow of its olive and apricot trees
and stands tall for its glorious past…
My village dances
everytime one of its sons
returns to its beloved soil
and rejoices when its loving children
come back and embrace it
–Alex Odeh, translated by Zack Saliba