Farrouh's Blog

Unit 10

farrouh — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 22:02:25 +0000

1. Please describe or explain three skills or concepts you learned in LALT 101 this semester.

a. First of all, I definitely feel at ease and in a state of advantage over other freshman researchers who haven’t yet gotten much experience with the library and research facilities and databases.

b. Secondly, I created and withheld my very own blog for the first time!

c. Thirdly, I now know what and how to use Boolean phrases and words which my friends think I am a nerd for. But it is useful!

2. Think about the topics we covered in LALT 101 this semester. What ideas are you still confused about? Or, what would you have liked to spend more time practicing or learning?

a. I would have liked to spend more time learning about the blogs, comments, and replies that allow for the interaction of people around the world with different backgrounds and interests.

b. Also, I would have liked to spend more time learning about the different Boolean words that there are to specify my research and enumerate search results.

3. What did you like about blogging through WordPress?

a. I liked that I felt comfortable to write in it even though it had an academic purpose, I felt comfortable knowing that I could express myself through another means rather than Facebook or the like.

4. What didn’t you like about blogging through WordPress?

a. I didn’t like the layout of the Dashboard, or maybe that I didn’t explore it enough to utilize all of its functions.

5. Anything else you’d like to tell us about LALT?

a. Keep doing the same, not much should change, other than we should maybe get access or references to other students’ blogs and interact with them.

b. Maybe the blogs could be a source for professors to use as a virtual interactive method if in the case of class suspensions.

Unit 9

farrouh — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 19:33:05 +0000

My news articles:

1. Using Google News and Ref-Grab-it:

Mostafa, Dalia Said. “Cinematic Representations of the Changing Gender Relations in Today’s Cairo.” California Chronicle. Boxkite Media, Summer 2009. Web. .

2. Using LexisNexis

Baz, Mira. “A Widening Generation Gap?” Daily Star, The (Beirut, Lebanon)2009: 5. Web. . NewsBank, Inc. Name. 11/15/2009..http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/NewsDetails.aspx?storyid=262848

Unit 8

farrouh — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 08:34:02 +0000

My databases: NetLibrary, and PsycARTICLES.

From NetLibrary, I extracted the following;

Haddad, Yvonne. Islam, Gender, & Social Change. New York Oxford University Press (US), 1998. NetLibrary. Web.

And,

Hopkins, Nicholas S., and Saad Eddin Ibrahim. Arab Society: Class, Gender, Power, and Development. Cairo, Egypt: Egypt The American University in Cairo Press, 1997. Web.

From PsycARTICLES, I extracted the following for my final project;

Eagly, Alice H. “The His and Hers of Prosocial Behavior: An Examination of the Social Psychology of Gender.” American Psychologist 64.8 (2009): 644-58. Web. 11/15/2009.

And,

Su, Rong, James Rounds, and Patrick Ian Armstrong. “Men and Things, Women and People: A Meta-Analysis of Sex Differences in Interests.” Psychological bulletin 135.6 (2009): 859-84. Web. 11/15/2009.

Unit 7

farrouh — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 12:39:11 +0000

Throughout my research process regarding the following question: To what degree will a change in Middle Eastern societal norms abdicate gender wars, female oppression and the patriarchal rule? I have accessed several databases regarding the themes and sources like NetLibrary and PsycARTICLES.

NetLibrary covers areas of global gender studies, gender studies in the Middle East, Arab studies, Islamic studies and American Studies. This specific database is a growing collection of eBooks and is categorized under the theme of Gender Studies however it has no specific date coverage limit in its eBooks collection. The eBooks are available in languages like English, French, Spanish, German, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai, and Dutch that are in full text, and are available off campus only for authorized users.

PsycARTICLES covers articles and news on current issues in psychology and its date coverage ranges from 1988 till the present. This specific database offers full text articles from 42 journals published by the American Psychological Association and other associations. Its language collection of articles is limited to English; access is available off campus only for authorized users.

Overall, NetLibrary seems like a more complicated database search engine only because PsycARTICLES is in the same format as Academic Search Complete which I am more familiar with, thus making it the quicker database to use. PsycARTICLES is more specific in terms of psychology issues and mentally-related topics rather than social and ethnic topics unlike NetLibrary which is more specific to my research question regarding Gender and Women’s studies. Regarding the psychological effects of globalization I would use PsycARTICLES, but for Middle Easter societal norms, gender wars etc., I would use NetLibrary. Hopefully I will come across many more throughout the semester.

Unit 6

farrouh — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 08:50:52 +0000

1. What is your research question?

To what degree will a change in Middle Eastern societal norms abdicate gender wars, female oppression and the patriarchal rule?

2. What academic disciplines relate to your research question?

Social Sciences: Gender and sexuality studies, Cultural studies and ethnic studies

Literature: world literature

Performing Arts: Film and visual arts

Sociology: Social research, cultural studies
3. What AUC majors and minors relate to your research question?

Art, Film, Gender Studies, Middle Eastern Studies.

4. What are two databases that might help you research this topic more in-depth (please include the name)? How can you tell?

Project Muse (scholarly journals on humanities, social sciences and arts)

Encyclopedia of Women and Islamic Cultures (An interdisciplinary, transhistorical, and global project)

I can judge by the description given to each of these two databases that they are relevant to my topic as well as my field of research-they are scholarly and valid sources of research.

Unit 5

farrouh — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 14:19:10 +0000

1. My library book:

Tine Davids and Francien van Driel, The gender question in globalization : changing perspectives and practices, Burlington, VT : Ashgate, 2005, HQ1155 .G45 2005.

2. My second library book dating from 2002 to 2004:

Eleanor Abdella Doumato, Marsha Pripstein Posusney, Women and globalization in the Arab Middle East : gender, economy, and society, Boulder, CO : Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2003, HQ1240.5.M628 W67 2003

3. My film:

Letters from Cairo, DT107.826 .L37 2003.

Unit 4

farrouh — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 23:44:14 +0000

What is your chosen research topic?
To what degree will a change in Middle Eastern societal norms abdicate gender wars, female oppression and the patriarchal rule?
Search for articles on your topic published in the year 2004. How many articles were there?
42 Articles in total after limiting my search “Middle East and Gender” from January 2004 till December 2004. The following was one in APA format:
Barbir, K. (2004). Family History in the Middle East: Household, Property, and Gender (Book). American Historical Review,109(4), 1343-1344. http://search.ebscohost.com
Search for your topic with a limitation to only return results from scholarly journals. How many results did you get?
439 results in total after limiting results from scholarly journals only. One MLA format is:
HALE, SONDRA “TRANSNATIONAL GENDER STUDIES AND THE MIGRATING CONCEPT OF GENDER IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA.” Cultural Dynamics 21.2 (2009): 133-152. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 22 Oct. 2009.
A reporter named Lucy Jones wrote an article that mentioned divorce in Egypt. Find this article in Academic Search Complete.
Jones, Lucy “Clinton’s Last Push for Peace.” Washington Report on Middle East Affairs 20.2 (2001): 33. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 23 Oct. 2009.

Unit 3

farrouh — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 22:15:47 +0000

1. What is your research question for this activity?

To what degree will a change in Middle Eastern societal norms abdicate gender wars, female oppression and the patriarchal rule?

2. What is your AND search statement?

‘Middle East’ and female oppression

‘Middle East’ and gender issues

3. Use MLA style to cite two articles that may help answer this research question.

Article 1: Feghali, Ellen. “Arab Cultural Communication Patterns.” International Journal of Intercultural Relations 21.3 (1997): 345-78. Web. 10/11/2009.1

Article 2: Logan, Deborah A. “Harem Life, West and East.” Women’s Studies 26.5 (1997): 449. Academic Search Complete. Web. 10/11/2009.

Unit 2

farrouh — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 18:31:33 +0000

Topic: How did modern politics affect Lebanese artists?

Article 1:

Authors: Sandra Dagher, Catherine Davic, Rasha Salti, Christine Tohme and T. J. Demos.
Title: “Curating Beirut: A Conversation on the Politics of Representation”
Journal: Art Journal
Date of publication: Summer 2007
Volume and issue numbers: Vol. 66 Issue 2
Page numbers of the article: pages 98-119
Permalink
Subject headings of articles: QUESTIONS & answers, VIDEO art, FREEDOM & art.

Article 2:

Author: Patrick Healy
Title: “Face of War Pervades New Beirut Art Center”
Journal: New York Times
Date of publication: July 7th, 2009
Volume and issue numbers: N/A
Page numbers of the article: page 1
Permalink
Subject headings of articles: ART museums, ART centers, TOURISTS, LEBANON War, 2006.

Unit 1

farrouh — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 08:23:39 +0000

As a freshman, I began by choosing an Art Major for myself at AUC after graduating from the Higher Level Art IB curriculum at AIS here in Cairo. My name is Farah Abdelhamid, and I am Egyptian by nationality, Austrian by birth and International by experience.

Music and Art are my inspiration, thus Swehouse and Canvas Magazine are my favorite sites.

Farah.