Bernard O'Kane, professor of Islamic art and architecture, received Iran's World Book of the Year Award –– the most prestigious in the country –– for his rich and exquisitely photographed volume, Studies in Persian Architecture (2021). 

O'Kane received the same award in 2004 for his book, Early Persian Painting: Kalila and Dimna Manuscripts of the Late Fourteenth Century (2003).

“I’m delighted to receive the award again,” said O’Kane. “The first was for a book on Persian manuscript paintings; this is on a very different aspect of my research, Persian architectural history.”

Through Studies in Persian Architecture, O'Kane presents 300 photographs, mostly his own, previously unpublished in color and 25 of his articles dissecting Persian monuments as well as prime features of Iranian architecture. 

“The collected article series of Edinburgh University Press (this is one of three published simultaneously) gave me a chance to revise previously published articles and to update them by substituting color photos of earlier black and white ones. We also added an index to each one, making it much more user-friendly,” explained O’Kane.

The book examines the monuments of the Greater Persian world, from Iraqi to Chinese borders, including buildings from historic periods that have rarely been studied by scholars. Each monument is placed within its relevant social and political context, with an analysis of historiography, tilework, development of the domes of Iranian mosques and more. Buildings include those of the main medieval dynasties –– the Seljuqs, Ilkhanids and Timurids –– in addition to previously neglected ones, such as Uzbek monuments in Afghanistan and those of the Chaghatai, Muzaffarid, Kartid and Jalayirid dynasties.

“Persia has a particularly rich architectural heritage with the monuments, unlike Egypt, not being concentrated in one capital city but spread out to include all of Iran’s neighbors,” said O’Kane, highlighting his interest in Persian architecture. “The art of tilework was continuously developed there from the 12th century onward, and their use of bright but carefully controlled tiled facades is a joy to behold.” 

A prolific author, avid photographer and AUC faculty member for the past 44 years, O’Kane has published numerous books, most recently Mosques: The 100 Most Iconic Islamic Houses of Worship (2019) and The Mosques of Egypt (2017).  

Why Islamic art and architecture? “The vast range of Islamic architecture, from Andalusia to Indonesia, is both a delight and a challenge,” said O’Kane. “The centrality of the hajj meant opportunities for patrons and craftsmen to travel, and it is fascinating to see how this played out in architectural styles of sometimes widely separated areas.”

Estimated to affect more than 90% of Egyptian women and 1 in 3 women worldwide, sexual harassment is an experience that an unconscionable amount of people share. A global issue, Jillian Campana, theatre professor and associate dean for undergraduate studies at AUC’s School of Humanities and Social Sciences, explores how sexual violence is addressed in Egypt and the United States in order to better understand effective education, support systems and forms of redress.

Addressing sexual violence in both countries highlights challenges that intersect cross-culturally. “The question we tackled was, ‘How different are we?’ and the answer we arrived at was ‘Not very different at all,’' says Campana. “Our cultures are very distinct, but the reasons why people commit crimes of sexual violence and the ways that they’re addressed are incredibly similar. They may appear different because of culture and legislation, but the dynamics are parallel.”

Campana's work in both the United States and Egypt has had an impact on and off stage, exploring using performance to help individuals process and heal from trauma. Her projects have included a 12-year research effort helping brain injury survivors rewire neural pathways via movement and speech exercises, working with U.S. military veterans to use playwriting to navigate post-traumatic stress disorder, and a creative research project in India and the Philippines helping survivors of sexual trafficking build skills for the workplace. Her work as a professor at the University of Montana included using theatre as a tool for anti-sexual harassment training, and she was a faculty mentor to actress Lily Gladstone, winner of a Golden Globe Award, as she studied theatre and social justice.

On December 31st, 2023, the Ministry of Education celebrated the success of the School University Partnership (SUP) at the Abou El Enein school in New Cairo. The Minister of Education expressed gratitude to AUC for their pivotal role in the initiative's success, and announced plans to integrate SUP into the national strategic plan, extending its reach across all Egyptian educational directorates.

Initiated by the Middle East Institute for Higher Education, the SUP project involved the collaboration of undergraduate and graduate students, AUC faculty from various disciplines, and government school teachers and pupils in order to leave a lasting impact on nine neighboring government schools. Throughout the Spring, Summer, and Fall of 2023, the team dedicated their efforts to developing student citizenship, leadership and participation, supporting sustainable development in schools, and opening doors for digital literacy.

The event, attended by the entire community-based learning team, featured Malak Zaalouk, who provided a historical background of the initiative. School pupils presented their accounts of the transformative impact SUP had on their schools. As a result of this successful collaboration, the Minister of Education recognized the program's potential to shape the future of education in Egypt.

Read more about the SUP initiative in AUCToday

Header photo (taken by Ahmad El Nemr): A new outreach initiative from AUC’s Middle East Institute of Higher Education is creating school-university partnerships that promote community engagement, empower public school students and foster sustainable development.

The Master of Arts in comparative and Middle East politics and society (CMEPS), a joint program offered by AUC and Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen in Germany, marks the first official joint degree between AUC and another university and the first master’s degree in political science accredited in Germany, Egypt and the United States –– a distinct offering of its kind. 

Photo caption (Banner): Dina Amin and Jillian Campana, principal investigators of the award-winning Msh Zanbik anti-sexual harassment research project

AUC’s Msh Zanbik (It’s Not Your Fault) initiative to combat and raise awareness of sexual harassment received the Research Project of the Year: Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences award from Times Higher Education. 

“This is an inspiring demonstration of the agency of a university to contribute to such an important social topic; produce new, high-quality research and disseminate it to achieve strong impact,” commented the judges. “It also highlights the unique value of the arts as a framework to address a complex issue and make it accessible and understandable to many.”

Msh Zanbik is a collaborative research project whereby a series of original plays about sexual harassment and assault in Egypt were created in order to understand the issue from the perspective of Egyptian university students and educate people about it. 

“The ultimate goal is to change behavior, curb incidents of harassment and encourage reporting,” said Jillian Campana, theatre professor; associate dean for undergraduate studies at the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, and principal investigator of the project along with Dina Amin ’84, associate professor and director of the theatre program.

Both Campana and Amin worked with more than 60 AUC students and alumni to write, perform and publish the plays, which were turned into an AUC Press book, available in both English and Arabic, along with research commentary and resources –– marking the first published plays in Egypt that deal directly with sexual harassment.

Campana continued this work with Reem El Mograby ’09, director of the Office of Institutional Equity (OIE) and AUC’s Title IX coordinator.

 “We worked with students to research and develop a series of anti-sexual harassment training videos in Arabic,” said Campana. “These are being used as part of the First-Year Experience program and in other OIE and Title IX workshops. They are the first Arabic videos in the region that educate university students about sexual harassment.”

The team’s ethnographic Participatory Action Research model relied on playwriting as the means of collecting and analyzing data as well as sharing the results of the study. Performances of these plays are royalty-free. 

“This project has been a true integration between performance and social science research,” said Amin. “We are fortunate to have found a forum to articulate creativity and social awareness and to also align with the #AUCSpeakUp initiative.”

As Times Higher Education puts it, “The Msh Zanbik: It’s Not Your Fault” project at The American University in Cairo exemplifies how a university can achieve big impact in a very important area that affects all of society while demonstrating the unique power of the creative arts to reach people.”

Jillian Campana (third from right) with President Ahmad Dallal, Associate Provost Ahmed Abdel-Meguid and Sustainability DirectorYasmine Mansour at the awards ceremony

For someone who wants to do everything, AUC rises to the challenge. “I was really, really happy to have the option to study a lot of different things. I couldn’t choose one specific aspect to focus on because that just wasn’t fulfilling to me,” says Mona Nasr, a member of the first cohort of AUC’s Excellence Scholars. 

“Without the Excellence Scholarship, I wouldn't have had the opportunity to study here,” Nasr adds. “I love that it focuses not only on academics, but the person as a whole. You can show your strengths in more ways than one, like in leadership, talent or sports.” 

Nasr’s strengths fall across the board. Already in a host of co curricular activities alongside planning a psychology major and political science minor, the ability to engage in different academic and non-academic endeavors at AUC lets Nasr fully explore her overall interest: working with people. 

“I love the idea of knowing how the world works,” she says. “Psychology allows me to study how our minds function and why we behave the way we do. Political science adds another layer, as politics affect everything about how we live and integrate in society.”. 

What she learns in the classroom is instantly applicable in the many student organizations she has joined, one being Mashroo3 Kheir, a student group that leads educational and aid initiatives focused on giving back to the community. “Working with student groups has been a really great experience,” she says. “Being able to get involved is a big part of why I was so excited to attend AUC.”.

While she’s not studying, Nasr manages to find time to pursue her non-academic passion which is singing. “I've been singing for as long as I can remember, ever since I was 3 years old. It's something that's very much a part of my family,” she says. 

Nasr’s mother is a recording artist and owns a music production company, and they even recorded a song together. “It's always been something that's very related to family for me and a big part of who I am,” she says. “It helps me feel balanced with my academics, like it completes my personality.”

What advice helps guide her during her journey at AUC? 

“I feel like for so many people my age, in this part of our lives, there are so many decisions to make,” she says. “You don't know what you should study, you don't know what's going to make you more successful, and sometimes I see people choose things they don’t actually like just to do things that they think will get them a high-paying job. But for me, the advice that I've gotten from many older family members is that if you do what you love, you'll be happy with what you're doing. And you will eventually, with dedication, find success.”

For someone who does as many things as Nasr, AUC is a great place to showcase her strengths in every discipline – no need to sacrifice any piece of her passion.

What do geographers, anthropologists, artists, engineers, botanists, pottery experts, photographers, Egyptologists and archaeologists have in common? Every single one has an important place at an excavation. 

“You know, excavations nowadays are no longer just an Egyptologist with a brush. It's a huge, interdisciplinary team,” laughs Marleen De Meyer, the William Kelly Simpson Visiting Professor in Egyptology at AUC.

De Meyer appreciates this aspect of her job: There’s a place for everyone, and the more diverse your team is, the more detailed and fascinating the portrait of ancient civilizations can become. From the various medical conditions they had down to the type of paint used for their coffins, an amazing amount of detail can be deduced from the barest remains. But how exactly do all the pieces come together in the field? The answer is in a lot of expert, detailed teamwork.

Focusing on a site in Middle Egypt called Dayr al-Barsha, De Meyer co-directs an archaeological project that is the first major excavation at this location since 1915. “The necropolis has been in use from the beginning of Egyptian history until the very end. Nearly every period is represented there,” she explains.

The team’s research question is much broader than just documenting individual tombs, but rather engages in a full chronological analysis of the area from beginning to end. “What we want is to understand how this site developed through all this time,” says De Meyer. “We're talking several millennia here, not just centuries.” 

De Meyer’s interest is in funerary culture, and Dayr al-Barsha hosts a rich archive to analyze. “Even a plundered tomb is very interesting to an Egyptologist. I mean, just the smallest piece of a coffin is enough to tell you which type was once present,” she says. “The climate here in Egypt is amazing– everything is preserved, even materials that would decay in other circumstances such as wood, textile, human remains, plant remains, and more. This year I excavated a rare Middle Kingdom embalming deposit in which 4000 year old linen bags of natron were perfectly preserved. These materials were used in the mummification process to desiccate the body.” 

Every surviving detail holds significance to a different expert. Botanists, for example, can determine the type of wood used to make a coffin and through this deduce information on the social class of its occupant. Physical anthropologists can look at the way human bones have healed, and at Dayr al-Barsha they were able to determine that successful amputations were performed to manage conditions like diabetes. Geographers examine where the Nile flowed in the past, artists are essential to draw detailed renderings of artifacts, while engineers help with digital scanning and 3D modeling. 

“I sometimes tell students that the best thing to do if you want to end up working on excavations is not necessarily studying Egyptology specifically but rather whatever interests you. Then you can come into the field with a specialty that Egyptologists don't have,” De Meyer says. “Basically, any discipline can help when it comes to archaeology.”

Aside from uncovering historical artifacts that bring us closer to understanding how ancient societies operated, evidence of the more recent past sometimes surfaces during excavations in Egypt as well. “Because of the excellent preservation, anyone who has ever been present at the site often leaves a record of themselves too, even unintentionally,” De Meyer explains. She found newspaper clippings reporting on World War I, left by American Egyptologist George Reisner in 1915. Between 1891 and 1893, a 17-year-old Howard Carter, who 30 years later would be credited with discovering the tomb of Tutankhamun, left his traces: paint tubes and edges of watercolor paper testifying to his work of copying the decoration of several of the tombs on site. 

Alongside the historical records of communities dating back millennia are the century-old traces of researchers who, in the grand scheme of things, might as well have been there yesterday. It all becomes part of the history of the site.

For more information, see https://www.arts.kuleuven.be/dayr-al-barsha 

The Tomorrow’s Leaders Gender Scholars (TLS) program welcomed its third cohort of students from various academic backgrounds. Through the program, the students apply a gender lens to their areas of study, engage in civic engagement activities, pursue professional development opportunities and give back to their communities.

“We have selected students who have shown great potential to become gender-sensitive leaders on campus and in their communities in the future,” said Helen Rizzo, associate professor, sociology unit head and TLS academic director.  

Initiated two years ago, TLS  is a joint effort between AUC,  U.S. Department of State and Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs. It grants a one-year scholarship to current AUC students who have leadership potential and are interested in studying and incorporating gender across academia as well as the public and private sectors.

This year's recipients are keen to embark on their academic journey.

“When I heard about the opportunity of applying to a scholarship that provides knowledge about gender and also equips us with all that we need to be agents of change, I felt like it’s calling me," said Amina Boudah, psychology major and a member of the third cohort. "Being in something bigger than myself, spreading awareness of gender issues and reaching policymakers are things  I’ve visualized and manifested my whole life.” 

Just like their predecessors, the current cohort will undertake projects in civic engagement and mentored research, attend a series of specialized workshops covering various aspects related to gender, and organize TLS and Tomorrow’s Leaders events on campus.

“TLS for me is a chance to outgrow my gender biases,  challenge them and  absorb cultures that I haven't witnessed before," Boudah reflected.

Graduates of the program also testify to its impact.

"TLS played a major role in shaping my perspective of major issues going on in my academic and social life. In doing so, this scholarship has helped me become a better learner, leader and an overall better human," said Moustafa Sherif, TLS graduate and biology major.

As part of their initial activities this year, students engaged in team-building exercises, an introduction to gender studies, and discussions about emotional intelligence and types of leadership. 

“Being with good company unleashes your abilities and can break barriers you've been trying to overcome for a long time,” said Hammad Omar, electronics and communications engineering major and a member of the third cohort. 

In addition to exploring gender themes, the program also connects students to different networking opportunities, such as attending international and national conferences, where they can engage with a wider community of specialists. It also gives them the chance to interact with civil society organizations working in the field of social development with a gendered lens.

“Gender awareness and advocacy for gender justice are critical to the development of our students, who will be future leaders. We are confident we have a strong cohort in place and are looking forward to working with them over the course of the next year,” said Fatemah Farag, TLS associate director and Tomorrow's Leaders senior gender coordinator.

Atta Gebril, professor of applied linguistics and associate dean for graduate studies and research in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, has won the prestigious Abdul Hameed Shoman Award for Arab Researchers for his work in the area of applied linguistics. 

Praised for its focused research agenda, international reputation and impactful publications, Gebril's work focuses on second language assessment, particularly writing assessment, test validation,  assessment literacy, and reading-writing connections. His work is valuable and relevant to both applied linguistics researchers, language professionals and test developers. 

“AUC has been instrumental in helping me work on my research projects and pursue my research agenda,” Gebril said. “I owe a lot to AUC and the research support resources we have on campus. I found nothing but help and support from different AUC entities.”

Gebril’s research has broad impact, targeting participants from many different cultural and linguistic backgrounds and geographic locations. He has published as both a sole author and collaborator in top journals within his field, and has used a wide range of advanced quantitative and qualitative techniques.

“I am really honored and humbled to win this prestigious research award. I am also deeply grateful to the Abdel Hameed Shoman Foundation and the selection committee for recognizing my contribution to the field of applied linguistics. I have to also acknowledge the enormous support I have received throughout the years from my research partners, mentors, and of course my family. Their support and encouragement have been instrumental throughout my research journey. Finally, this award motivates me to explore new areas for my research, to continue my commitment to excellence, and hopefully make a meaningful impact on my research trajectory.” - Atta Gebril

Teaching courses on assessment in language assessment, thesis writing and research methods in applied linguistics, Gebril is a valuable member of the AUC community. He received several awards in recognition of his work, including the Scopus award representing the highest-impact scholarship in the field of education in Egypt from Elsevier and Egyptian Knowledge Bank and the Best Article Award in the field of language Testing from the International Language Testing Association in 2018. 

“I couldn't have been able to  achieve this without the excellent research environment at AUC. I am really proud to be part of the AUC community and always will be.”