Arab Cultures and Counseling
ESCP 8087
Spring 2008
Instructors:
Taleb Khairallah, MS
215 Noyes Hall
801-556-6815
tskdkc@mizzou.edu
Office Hours:
By appointment
Class Time:
Tuesdays 9 AM-11 AM
Class Meeting:
215 Noyes Hall
Puncky Heppner, PhD
304 Noyes Hall
573-882-3523
HeppnerP@missouri.edu
Course Objectives:
Through weekly discussion, class readings, various media resources and assignments students
will better understand Arab cultures and working with Arab Americans in a counseling setting
from a professional and personal standpoint. Students will have a brief introduction to Arab
cultures and what the literature has reflected as positive avenues for working with this
population. Then students will be encouraged to use this knowledge to develop and integrate
these experiences into their theoretical orientation and gain cross-cultural skills with this
population.
Required Readings:
Weekly readings will be required typically in the format of webpages, articles, and other
literature. These will be provided to the students via electronic mail.
Suggested Readings:
Dwairy, M. (2006). Counseling and Psychotherapy with Arabs and Muslims: A Culturally
Sensitive Approach. Teachers College Press: New York, NY.
Assignments:
Journal
Students will keep a journal throughout the course to set personal goals, confront stereotypes and
integrate new knowledge into existing schemas. A minimum of five journal entries is required
for the semester. Student will reflect on goals and expectations as well as insights. Journal entries
must be at least one page typed, or two pages hand written. The journal is due on the first class of
the month.
Presentation/Creative Project
Student will choose a topic about Arab Americans to prepare a brief 10-minute presentation to
give in class. It is recommended that students choose a project that will help enhance and
integrate the student’s knowledge of Arab American culture and counseling. Student may clear
the choice of topic or idea with either course instructor by February 26th, 2008.
Arab Cultures & Counseling Syllabus, 2
Evaluation:
Evaluation will be based on active participation in class meetings, completion of class
assignments, leadership of assigned class discussions or presentations, and demonstration of
skills. If you are unable to attend a particular class, please let the instructors know by phone or
e-mail. The total points possible for the course are 300.
Major Projects:
Journal (5 entries/20 points each)
100
Creative Project or Presentation
50
Class Participation
150
Grades
A=270-300 points (90-100% of total points)
B=240-269 points (80-89% of total points)
C=210-239 points (70-79% of total points)
D=180-209 points (60-69% of total points)
F=below 179 points
Additional Optional Experience:
An optional experience for a hands-on experience with an Arab culture can be determined by
class desire and consensus. Through this brief immersion experience we would be able to gain
valuable insight that cannot be conveyed in the classroom. Some suggestions for obtaining this
immersion experience could be a trip to a local mosque or Arab community center.
Tentative Course Schedule:
This course schedule will change according to the needs of the students as well as the availability
of class speakers. Updated course schedules will be distributed during the semester.
Week 1:
1/22
Introduction
Syllabus review
Current definitions of Arabs
Class expectations
Initial journal entry
Week 2:
1/29
History of the region- Antiquity
City states, empires, and dynasties.
Trade and wars
Week 3:
2/5
History of the region- continued
Migration to US
League of Arab writers
Evolving geographical definitions
Case study of Arab American experience
Week 4:
2/12
History of the region- Rise of Islam, Impact of WWI & WWII, Arab nationalism
Arab Israeli conflict
Inter-faith relations
Arab Cultures & Counseling Syllabus, 3
Week 5:
2/19
Guest speaker: Dr. Shakir Hamoodi
Arab American experience
Social justice and activism
Week 6:
2/26
Arab countries
Class presentations
Week 7:
3/4
Arab countries (Continued)
Arab cultures
Video: “Little Mosque on the Prairie” and discussion
Week 8:
No Class/ presentation preparation time
Week 9:
3/18
Islam
Visit to Islamic Center of Central Missouri- Mosque
Guest Speaker: Hend El-Buri- Muslim Speaker’s Bureau of Columbia
Week 10:
3/25
Spring Break
No Class
Week 11:
4/1
Arab Americans: Who are they?
Census data
Migration patterns
Muslim Americans
Arab American contributions to US
Week 12:
4/8
Arab Americans in Film
View “Reel Bad Arabs” and discussion
Stereotypes
Week 13:
4/15
Guest lecture: Rihab Sawah
Religious tolerance and inter-religion processes
Gender roles
Week 15:
4/22
Mental health
Factors impacting counseling
Holistic care
Integration of traditional healing
Cultural tailoring
Week 16:
4/29
Individual Class Presentations
Week 17:
5/6
Class evaluations
Potluck feast
Arab Cultures & Counseling Syllabus, 4
Academic Honesty Statement
Academic honesty is fundamental to the activities and principles of a university. All members of
the academic community must be confident that each person’s work has been responsibly and
honorably acquired, developed, and presented. Any effort to gain an advantage not given to all
students is dishonest whether or not the effort is successful. The academic community regards
academic dishonesty as an extremely serious matter, with serious consequences that range from
probation to expulsion. When in doubt about plagiarism, paraphrasing, quoting or collaboration
consult a course instructor.
As required by the Provost’s office, the university policy on academic dishonesty is included
here as follows: “It is the duty of any instructor who is aware of an incident of academic
dishonesty in his/her course to report the incident to the Vice Provost, 116 Jesse Hall, and to
inform the department chair of the incident.”
ADA Statement/ Need for Accommodations
It is important that persons with special needs [as addressed by the Americans with Disabilities
ACT (ADA)] are fully included in this course, and reasonable efforts will be made to
accommodate your needs. Please let me know in advance if you need any special
accommodations in curriculum, instruction, or assignments for the course to enable you to fully
participate. I will try to maintain the confidentiality of the information you share with me. If
you have emergency medical information to share with me, or if you need special arrangements
in case the building must be evacuated, please inform me immediately. We can meet privately
after class, or at my office.
To request academic accommodations (for example, a note taker), students must also register
with Disability Services, S5 Memorial Union, 882-4696. It is the campus office responsible for
reviewing documentation provided by students requesting academic accommodations, and for
accommodations planning in cooperation with students and instructors, as needed and consistent
and consistent with course requirements. Another resource, MU’s Adaptive Computing
Technology Center, 884-2828, is available to provide computing assistance to students with
disabilities. For other MU resources for students with disabilities, click on “Disability
Resources” on the MU Homepage. For more information about the rights of people with
disabilities, please see ada.missouri.edu or call 884-7278.