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Middle East and African Cultures Teacher Fellows Program

The Middle East and African Cultures Teacher Fellows Program is a funded, eight-month intensive fellowship for teachers to explore Middle Eastern and African history, cultures, and diaspora through structured experiential learning experiences across North Carolina. Running March to December 2020, this program aims to enhance teacher expertise in Middle Eastern and African studies in part by making relevant connections to local communities.

Eight-month Teacher Fellows Program

The Middle East and African Cultures Teacher Fellows Program consists of:

Participants will attend a two-day orientation workshop, Friday, March 20 – Saturday, March 21, 2020 at UNC-Chapel Hill to introduce major themes of the fellowship including:

  • defining the Middle East and Africa
  • social movements and human rights issues in the regions
  • the role of women and gender in society
  • the diversity of cultures of these regions
  • resources and strategies for teaching about these regions
Fellows will attend four experiential learning field visits across North Carolina to explore the Middle East and Africa. Please consider your availability to attend these programs prior to applying to the fellowship. The program will include visits to:
  • Masjid Omar ibn Sayyid (Fayetteville), Friday, April 3, 2020
  • North Carolina African Services Coalition (refugee resettlement in Greensboro), Friday, May 22, 2020
  • Moise A. Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies (Raleigh), Friday, September 18, 2020
  • Immigrant Kitchen experience (Durham/Raleigh), Friday, October TBD, 2020
    • Fellows are invited to attend one elective event that fits their own interests on the Middle East and/or Africa. The elective event can be a lecture, conference, workshop, cultural program, or other. Events may be in-person or virtual (i.e. webinar) and must be pre-approved. Suggested events will be provided by the African Studies Center and the Duke-UNC Consortium for Middle East Studies.
    At the culmination of the program, teachers will develop a reflection project (lesson plan, annotated bibliography, video about content learned, etc.) and present their work at a culminating workshop in December 2020.

    The lessons below were created by the MEAC fellows for teaching about the Middle East and Africa. Click the link to download lessons and accompanying materials:


    The 2020 Middle East and African Cultures Teacher Fellows:
    Kelsey Agar, Mooresville High School, Mooresville Graded School District
    Amy Barsanti, Jamesville Elementary, Martin County Schools
    Raven Cathey, Southside High School, Beaufort County Schools
    Kimberly Jones, Chapel Hill High School, Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools
    Lindsey Landers, Central Cabarrus High School, Cabarrus County Schools
    Shelby Lewis, AC Reynolds High School, Buncombe County Schools
    Ashley Melendrez, Midway High School, Sampson County Schools
    Holly Moran-Bates, Davis Drive Middle School, Wake County Public School System
    Alicia Morris, Cary Academy
    Matthew Murchison, Carrboro High School, Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools
    Tonya Smith, North Carolina School of Science and Math
    Tamika Spruill, Columbia Middle School, Tyrrell County Schools
    Debra Troxell, West Forsyth High School, Winston Salem-Forsyth County Schools
    Bridgett Wiley, Smith High School, Guilford County Schools
    Measha Williams, Northern Granville Middle School, Granville County Schools


    Contact
    If you have questions regarding the program or application process, contact Emma Harver, Program/Outreach Coordinator, Duke-UNC Consortium for Middle East Studies at 919-962-6732, harver@email.unc.edu.


    The Middle East and African Cultures Teacher Fellows Program is a collaboration of the     UNC African Studies Center and the Duke-UNC Consortium for Middle East Studies. This program is funded by  Title VI funding from the U.S. Department of Education.