Professional Activities

Deborah Al-Najjar served as secretary for RAWI, Radius of Arab American Writers, from 2005-2007 with President Khaled Mattawa and Executive Director Steven Salaita to revamp its mission, hire a webdesigner (Joe Namy!), and strengthen its network of writers—over 200 nationally. While teaching at Henry Ford Community College as a tenured faculty member of the English Department, she served on many departmental and college wide committees such as the Council of American Cultures. She has served on the Library Advisory Board of the Arab American National Museum and on committees at the Center for Arab American Studies, in Dearborn, Michigan.  This summer she will attend the VONA memoir workshop with Elmaz Abinader in July 2007. She has taken an education leave to pursue a Ph.D. in American Studies and Ethnicity from University of Southern California in Los Angeles beginning August 2007.

Publications & Conference Papers

PUBLICATIONS:

Forthcoming
"The Light in my House: Creativity and Escape from the (Re)Production Narrative" in Gender, Nation and Belonging: Arab and Arab American Feminist Perspectives Co-edited by Rabab Abdulhadi, Nadine Naber and Evelyn Alsultany under consideration at Syracuse University Press

Forthcoming, 2007 issue
“Fragments of Hope: An Interview with Lisa Suhair Majaj” in
International Feminist Journal of Politics May 2007

Short book review of I, the Divine under “Underappreciated Books”
Ed. Laila Lalami Moorishgirl Blog (June 2006): http://www.moorishgirl.com/archives/2006_06.html

“Mariam Athra” Artenews Ed. Maymanah Farhat (May 2006)
http://www.arteeast.org/artenews/artenews-articles2006/story-athra.html

CONFERENCE PAPERS:

Co-organizer with Dr. Nadje Al-Ali roundtable "Contemporary Iraqis: Cultural Voices of Resistance" Middle East Studies Association   November 2007 Montreal, Canada

Co-organizer of RAWI Conference May 17-19, 2007

Moderator for "The Power of the Word" panel DIWAN Conference April 2007

“Arab American Sitings in Cyberspace:The Aesthetics of Mohja Kahf and Lalia Lalami” Middle East Studies Association November 2006

"An Iraqi Community's Search for Identity & the Limitations of Sectarianism" Syracuse University’s Feminisms & War Conference October 2006

“Facing Apartheid Israel in Academic Palestine: Racial profiling and the Destruction of self & culture” Witnesses to War, Anti-war committee at Wayne State University, Invited speaker September 2006

"It's Sex, Stupid! Academic Representations of Arab Sexualities" World Congress of Middle East Studies in Amman, Jordan June 16, 2006

“Writing Arab Ethnicity and Exiling the Self” Ramallah, Palestine, the Jerusalem Institute, June 6, 2006

“Multiple Betrayals: Reflections on Chaldean Identity & Academic Constructions of Ethnicity” Mapping Arab Diasporas Conference Center for Arab American Studies April 2006

“The Making of an Arab American Literary Community: Challenges and Opportunities A Panel Discussion with Representatives of RAWI (Radius of Arab American Writers)” Diwan: Arab in the Arts Forum a conference at Arab American National Museum April 2006

“Arab Identities: Recent Literary and Academic Constructions” Arab Culture in the US panels (new area in SWPC) Southwest/Pop Culture Conference February 2006

“Religious Barriers: Crossing the Cultural Lines in Arab Communities”Council of American Cultures Forum, Henry Ford Community College February 2005

Do Good Fences Make Good Neighbors? A teach – in on Politics & Peace “Activist Scholarship and Feminist Politics: Perspectives on Violence, War, and Peace” panel Center for Arab American Studies December 2004

“Muslim and Christian Relations: Communities in the New World” Community College Humanities Association October 2004

Favorite Sites

Art & Blog

I have a blog:
http://hagardiaries.blogspot.com/

"Athir Shayota's Iraqi figures are guarded, showing no signs of vulnerability and displaying an intense indifference toward the viewer. They are captured in frozen moments in time. Refusing objectification with dignified and confident stances, his Iraqi subjects are positioned defiantly in front of the viewer, showing no sense of reliance on the viewer to come to his/her own conclusions. The use of Iraqi themes as subject matter serves as an act of defiance within the current political climate." Maymanah Farhat

Interview with Athir Shayota: ArteEast - ArteNews

Curriculum Vita 2007

Download my updated Curriculum Vita 2007 by clicking here.