What’s disturbing about power? Reflections on teaching US-Arab encounters in the Middle East

Abstract

Highlights:

– Culturally relevant pedagogy can be an effective tool for decolonising educational practices.

– The experiences of learners and teachers in the classroom are defined by the outside world.

– The case study method is a valuable tool for understanding classroom dynamics.

 Purpose: The paper aims to illustrate some of the challenges and outcomes of teaching courses addressing the politics, culture, and history of the US in the Middle East. In doing so, it contextualises an application of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy and describes its implementation.

Methodology: A case study method is applied to qualitative records to illustrate the experiences of both the learners and the teacher, as narrated by the latter.

Findings: Narratives suggest that a curriculum of US import, taught in a context that bears the new and old scars of colonialism, makes US-Middle East encounters capable of deepening students’ understanding of their condition in a world still dominated by ‘others’.

Implications: The findings of the current study bring to the surface the need for decolonising educational practices that allow for imagination of life in dignity and pluriversity.