Regina Wellner has been teaching the history of the Middle East to Columbia students since 1996. Not surprisingly, interest in her course has been on the upswing for the past five years. This is due in part to the current political climate. It is also due to Wellner's dedication to both her subject and her students. She is forever seeking innovative and engaging methods to remain topical and to 'connect the dots between history and current events.'
The part-time professor's syllabus for her course 'Middle East History: Since Muhammad' was so well regarded by her supervisor in Liberal Education that she was asked to submit it to the Center for Educational Policy Research at the University of Oregon (CEPR), which was reviewing college courses for a national study.
The study, conducted on behalf of the College Board, sought to identify courses to be used as models of best practices in a redesign of advance placement high school world history courses that would 'reflect the best of college teaching,' according to CEPR director David T. Conley.
A total of 57 courses nationwide were selected for review. Professor Wellner's course was designated a best practices course overall and further cited as having specific elements designated as 'exemplary.'
So what is the key to Wellner's success? 'I am very invested in students' really understanding the threads that weave the past to the present,' she explains. 'You cannot understand the current world situation unless you understand the people and events leading up to the present time. It is also important to make the past relevant, alive. One way I do this is by using numerous books written by Middle Easterners so students can see them as they see themselves ' as authors, artists, teenagers, doctors, lawyers, men, women ' as individuals.'
Wellner's prior academic background actually focused on Latin American colonial history. 'I'm ABD [all but dissertation] at UIC, but when I came to teach at Columbia and started to take a broader focus on world history, a passion for the history of the Middle East emerged,' she explains. 'I have also become very engaged in the ways in which the content is communicated ' the pedagogy ' and I am actually considering shifting gears and pursuing my Ph.D. in academic administration and curriculum.'
Her commitment to her subject and her students is so strong that she volunteers as faculty advisor for MOSAIC, a student organization that studies Middle Eastern culture, tradition, and art in order to promote 'awareness, knowledge, and tolerance of the diverse people of the region.' Wellner has been working with the group since it's founding in 2004. During that year the organization presented a conference on 'Images of the Middle East in the Media' for which they received the Multicultural Awareness Award from the Office of Student Leadership. Wellner also scored the Faculty Advisor of the Year Award for 2004-5. Last year MOSAIC presented a Middle Eastern Festival, which they plan to reprise in Spring, 2007.
Alumna Nadia Hayek was a founding member of MOSAIC and a student of Wellner's. 'I took the Middle Eastern history class as a cultural studies major,' says Hayek, who also did an independent study on 'Orientalism' with Wellner. 'I loved her class and am awestruck by her commitment to her subject, her students and her role as a teacher and a mentor.'
Hayek, who is now in Columbia's interior architecture graduate program remains in contact with Wellner, whom she considers a mentor. 'She loves to experience people's creativity and is really dedicated to accommodating students' different learning styles. I have never had another teacher like her, she's the best teacher I've ever had.'
As Hyek noted in her nomination of Wellner for the college's Excellence in Teaching Award: 'Her teaching both in class and outside of class will stay with me for the rest of my life. She is a teacher I will never forget.'
Perhaps ironically, 'Middle East History: Since Muhammad' is no longer offered at Columbia. But history enthusiasts need not despair. The course was used as a foundation to build two new courses that delve deeper into the region and its history and culture: 'Middle Eastern History and Culture: From Muhammad to 1800' is being piloted by Wellner this semester. Topics include a general historical overview, a study of the life of Muhammad, an exploration of gender issues in Islam, and an examination of Islamic art. It also focuses on the culture's contributions to mathematics, poetry, literature, philosophy, law, medicine and many other disciplines, as well as an experiential unit on the cuisine of the Middle East. 'Middle Eastern History and Culture: Since 1800' will be offered in Spring, 2007 and will focus on an examination of ideologies prevalent in the Middle East, colonialism, empire, east-west relations, and the tension between secularism and theocracy.
'I've already been able to teach much more new material with this format,' notes Wellner. 'I have a great group of students and I am very fortunate to be able to share the course with them.'