Beirut Dearborn: Collaboration and Transcultural Academic Literacy

1. Beirut & Dearborn: Collaboration and Transcultural Academic Literacy 21 May 2011, ATEL Bill DeGenaro

2. Dearborn, Michigan Pop. just under 100,000 Inner suburb of Detroit Home of Henry Ford, Ford Motor Co., and the Henry Ford Museum Complex University of Michigan Dearborn: �commuter school� of approx. 8,500 UMD founded in 1959, a gift of Henry Ford to start a school of engineering UMD Writing Program serves linguistically diverse student body, large transfer population, and many first generation college students stories of Henry Ford�s racism, resistance to housing integration laws, and keep Dearborn clean movement stories of Henry Ford�s racism, resistance to housing integration laws, and keep Dearborn clean movement

3. Dearborn�s Arab and Arab-American Population At least 200,000 in Detroit area, with highest concentration in Dearborn Estimates differ, but at least one-third of Dearborn residents are Middle-Eastern, especially Lebanese, Iraqi, Yemeni, and Palestinian Some came a century ago for auto industry jobs (especially Chaldeans and Christian Lebanese) 1970s and 1980s: varied, many fleeing Iran-Iraq War, Lebanon�s Civil War, and Israeli-Lebanese conflicts Most recent immigration: varied, but large wave of Shi�a from villages in South Lebanon from the south, including Rima Fakih, Miss USA; Bint Jbeil is esp. well-represented in Dearborn neighborhoods�notable that the hijab is more visible at UMDearborn than at AUB and more ubiquitous in Dearborn writ large than it is in most areas in Beirut, definitely Hamrafrom the south, including Rima Fakih, Miss USA; Bint Jbeil is esp. well-represented in Dearborn neighborhoods�notable that the hijab is more visible at UMDearborn than at AUB and more ubiquitous in Dearborn writ large than it is in most areas in Beirut, definitely Hamra

4. Miss USA, graduate of our university, largest mosque in North America, one of countless Leb. restaurants in Dearborn Miss USA, graduate of our university, largest mosque in North America, one of countless Leb. restaurants in Dearborn

5. Dearborn�s Middle-Eastern Identity Visible, civically engaged population: school board, local politics, business community (est. 15,000 Arab-owned �small businesses� in Metro Area) Dearborn: 8 Mosques, public schools serve halal meals and observe Islamic holidays, numerous charter schools that serve immigrant population Wonderful ethnic enclave: restaurants, shops, bilingualism, etc. Frequent object of mainstream media gaze, misunderstanding (also: political potshots) Pop. reported post-9/11 racism, but less conflict than media often implies (although some regarding perception that money doesn�t stay in community) Recent controversy over visit by Rev. Terry Jones

6. Recent Scholarship Urges Global Focus with Critical, Meta- Stance Canagarajah: �Postmodern globalization may require us to develop in our students a multilingual and polyliterate orientation to writing.� Reality: English is plural due to diaspora communities, media, global economies, etc Hesford/Schell: Posit transnationalism (highlights hybridity and intertextuality) as ethical alternative to contrastive impulse Schaub: We should be �providing students, within the mission and parameters of a particular writing course, with reading, writing, and research assignments that foster in them a more global vision for their writing and their conception of writing� Critical meaning avoiding contrastive impulses and establishing ethical reciprocity; --Canagarajah: this should happen at the level of classroom instead of waiting for trickle-down from the discipline at large. Monolingual classrooms are outmoded and limit the material and ethical possibilities of all students. It�s not just about valuing multiple Englishes and the notion of pluralism in the abstract anymore. �Borders� and �nation-states� no longer have the monopoly on how meaning is made and information is circulated�our pedagogies need to respond to that material reality; -- Hesford/Schell challenge field�s �nationalist rhetorics� and posit �transnationalism� as a useful mode/keyword of analysis: �like the term borderland, it is often used to highlight forms of cultural hybridity and intertextuality�. Transcends less nuanced contrastive analysis, which tend toward top-down or deficit mentality and/or assumptions that Western rhetorics are the norm and/or reinforce the �nation-state as the main mode of analysis�. Transnationalism puts rhetorics and literate practices in conversation with one another in a variety of contexts and avoids moves that privilege or normalize The West; --Schaub said after 9/11 many went global but then the fad wore off, troubling given global realities and our ethical obligations. Like Canagarajah and Hesford/Schell, he sees the individual classroom as one of the levels (in addition to institutional-wide and discipline-wide) to make this happen.Critical meaning avoiding contrastive impulses and establishing ethical reciprocity; --Canagarajah: this should happen at the level of classroom instead of waiting for trickle-down from the discipline at large. Monolingual classrooms are outmoded and limit the material and ethical possibilities of all students. It�s not just about valuing multiple Englishes and the notion of pluralism in the abstract anymore. �Borders� and �nation-states� no longer have the monopoly on how meaning is made and information is circulated�our pedagogies need to respond to that material reality; -- Hesford/Schell challenge field�s �nationalist rhetorics� and posit �transnationalism� as a useful mode/keyword of analysis: �like the term borderland, it is often used to highlight forms of cultural hybridity and intertextuality�. Transcends less nuanced contrastive analysis, which tend toward top-down or deficit mentality and/or assumptions that Western rhetorics are the norm and/or reinforce the �nation-state as the main mode of analysis�. Transnationalism puts rhetorics and literate practices in conversation with one another in a variety of contexts and avoids moves that privilege or normalize The West; --Schaub said after 9/11 many went global but then the fad wore off, troubling given global realities and our ethical obligations. Like Canagarajah and Hesford/Schell, he sees the individual classroom as one of the levels (in addition to institutional-wide and discipline-wide) to make this happen.

7. Project involved students in a series of ethnographic interview exchanges leading to writing a literacy �profile� or �narrative� Exchanges mediated by Skype, email, FB and texting Students working primarily in pairs Guiding questions shared in common

8. Ethnographic interview questions (selected): Literacy practices, background Where did you grow up, and where have you lived? What is your course of study at the university? Literacy practices, outside of school What languages do you speak, read and/or write? What is your most significant memory as a child of reading or writing outside of school? What kinds of texts do you read and write as part of civic work? in digital environments? What other kinds of �literacy� are important to you: graphic arts, photography, visual design, musical composition, etc.?

9. Ethnographic interview questions (selected): Literacy practices, in school What are a few specific episodes with reading or writing that you remember most from your time in school? At university? What genres do you write regularly? What expectations do your professors have for your writing? How do expectations for writing/reading at university level differ from expectations of your secondary school teachers?

10. AUB Students Writing about Dearborn Peers: Early Observations A focus on materiality of literacy Interest in literacy�s intersections with nuances of global(ized) cultures Complicated attitudes toward Arabic Shared frustrations with academic literacy Shared experiences with extra-curricular literacy Adamant (and seemingly obligatory) critiques of information technologies Day I introduced this assignment, we had a downright rousing conversation about their expectations and hypotheses about the "literacy of U.S. college students."� They're fascinated by some philosophical matters (the individualism, notions of privacy, and worklives of Americans are all things they seem especially curious about).� Several had heard cliche " don't talk religion and politics," and wondered if that was true, given that--according to them--that's about the �only things that Arabs talk about!�� They were also curious about swearing, references to God (or lack thereof) in everyday conversation, the� influence of both pop culture and African-American dialect on spoken English in the U.S.� And fact that American college students have paying jobs.� Several kept using phrases like "after school jobs" and I told them that for many U.S. students, paid work is more than just "after school"--indeed sometimes it's "before school" in terms of priority.� That surprised them a lot. My students are curious about African-Amer dialect in the U.S. and the influence of pop culture on speech patterns.� They're also curious about English speakers in the U.S. and the lack of references to God in their conversations (Arabs, regardless of religion, mention God a lot--"peace of God be upon you," "God willing," etc.)--their perception of U.S.English is that it's very secular and reflects values of privacy/individualism.� A student asked me whether it was true that Americans don't think talking about religion and politics is friendly--"those are the only things Arabs talk about," she said, adding that both political and religious affiliation are very basic identity markers.� I told them about the phrase "have a blessed day" that's common in African-American community in Michigan--they thought that was similar to Arabic greetings--and I told them the story of a conversation I had with an atheist who told me he's offended when people say "have a blessed day" (he perceives it as heavy-handed)...they were outraged that someone would take offense at such a thing.Day I introduced this assignment, we had a downright rousing conversation about their expectations and hypotheses about the "literacy of U.S. college students."� They're fascinated by some philosophical matters (the individualism, notions of privacy, and worklives of Americans are all things they seem especially curious about).� Several had heard cliche " don't talk religion and politics," and wondered if that was true, given that--according to them--that's about the �only things that Arabs talk about!�� They were also curious about swearing, references to God (or lack thereof) in everyday conversation, the� influence of both pop culture and African-American dialect on spoken English in the U.S.� And fact that American college students have paying jobs.� Several kept using phrases like "after school jobs" and I told them that for many U.S. students, paid work is more than just "after school"--indeed sometimes it's "before school" in terms of priority.� That surprised them a lot. My students are curious about African-Amer dialect in the U.S. and the influence of pop culture on speech patterns.� They're also curious about English speakers in the U.S. and the lack of references to God in their conversations (Arabs, regardless of religion, mention God a lot--"peace of God be upon you," "God willing," etc.)--their perception of U.S.English is that it's very secular and reflects values of privacy/individualism.� A student asked me whether it was true that Americans don't think talking about religion and politics is friendly--"those are the only things Arabs talk about," she said, adding that both political and religious affiliation are very basic identity markers.� I told them about the phrase "have a blessed day" that's common in African-American community in Michigan--they thought that was similar to Arabic greetings--and I told them the story of a conversation I had with an atheist who told me he's offended when people say "have a blessed day" (he perceives it as heavy-handed)...they were outraged that someone would take offense at such a thing.

11. I. Materiality & Literacy AUB students see literacy as esoteric, express surprise that literate acts of UMD peers closely tied to material conditions, work/family lives Frame various facets of UMD peers� lives AS literacies: workplace literacy, family literacy Focus on how literacy impacts career/major (e.g., ed. majors recalling library read-ins, favorite childhood books) See the literacy-to-major trajectory as a reflection of individualism Fascination with school/work connections (e.g., ed. Majors working at daycares or as substitute teachers) For AUB undergraduates, this project represented an opportunity to reflect on the materiality of literacy and the ways that literacy is tethered to material conditions and cultural context. They couldn�t talk to their American counterparts about their literacy without also talking about their jobs and career aspirations; they couldn�t write about literacy without also writing about materiality. They remark how life, career, and literacy overlap for their UMD counterparts and frame various aspects of Americans� lives AS literacies: workplace literacy, family literacy, etc. Some AUB students single out particular literate activities of their Dearborn counterparts as having material potential and material implications. Examples include a bakery employee whose literate, customer-service skills (like READING shoppers) earns tips. Some AUB students envious of Dearborn students who have �here�s why I�m going to be a teacher� narratives. AUB students report being strongly urged to go into particular fields�mostly engineering, medicine, and science, so they find the Dearborn narratives intriguing, and often related to literacy. They describe UMD students� recollections of books they loved as children, of elementary school read-ins, of library and community-center reading programs, and of being read to by parents as influential memories, extracurricular literate practices that led them to career aspirations and by extension impact material life. Several report that the Dearborn students liked reading as kids and thus pursued elementary education, as if this is an unusual trajectory, finding noteworthy that literacy leads to such choices�INDIVIDUAL choices, perhaps striking to AUB students given that individualism does not have the same western-mythic status in the Middle East. Several AUB students note their partners working as substitute teachers or daycares while finishing degrees in education, noting this as a theory-practice connection as well as a fact of their literate lives: they write lessons plans, read stories to young children, etc. Literacy is a crucial part of the jobs, and the narratives highlight this. For AUB undergraduates, this project represented an opportunity to reflect on the materiality of literacy and the ways that literacy is tethered to material conditions and cultural context. They couldn�t talk to their American counterparts about their literacy without also talking about their jobs and career aspirations; they couldn�t write about literacy without also writing about materiality. They remark how life, career, and literacy overlap for their UMD counterparts and frame various aspects of Americans� lives AS literacies: workplace literacy, family literacy, etc. Some AUB students single out particular literate activities of their Dearborn counterparts as having material potential and material implications. Examples include a bakery employee whose literate, customer-service skills (like READING shoppers) earns tips. Some AUB students envious of Dearborn students who have �here�s why I�m going to be a teacher� narratives. AUB students report being strongly urged to go into particular fields�mostly engineering, medicine, and science, so they find the Dearborn narratives intriguing, and often related to literacy. They describe UMD students� recollections of books they loved as children, of elementary school read-ins, of library and community-center reading programs, and of being read to by parents as influential memories, extracurricular literate practices that led them to career aspirations and by extension impact material life. Several report that the Dearborn students liked reading as kids and thus pursued elementary education, as if this is an unusual trajectory, finding noteworthy that literacy leads to such choices�INDIVIDUAL choices, perhaps striking to AUB students given that individualism does not have the same western-mythic status in the Middle East. Several AUB students note their partners working as substitute teachers or daycares while finishing degrees in education, noting this as a theory-practice connection as well as a fact of their literate lives: they write lessons plans, read stories to young children, etc. Literacy is a crucial part of the jobs, and the narratives highlight this.

12. Materiality, cont. AUB students also struck by overlap among academic work and family life: N says, �I have to work to help pay the bills and I have been going to school for 7 years now trying to make a better lifestyle for my 2 little boys.� This statement summarizes N�s lifestyle, and the effect it has on her literacy. Motivated by her undying love for her two young boys, Nicole works as a waitress at a local diner, studies education at the University of Michigan � Dearborn campus, and still finds the time to sit with her children, reading to them and teaching them lessons they can use in life. Throughout her hectic everyday routine, she tirelessly switches between numerous literacies and codes, efficiently completing her required tasks, which aim at keeping a roof above her children�s heads and providing them with the best lifestyle possible. Another AUB student struck by university-work-family convergence of her partner (a daycare worker and parent) who has written papers on topics like toddlers and biting The AUB students see education for their American peers is rarely an abstraction and often more overtly connected to other facets of life. Several connect education and literacy�and plans to become teachers�to motherhood. These connections happen in interesting, gendered ways. R positions motherhood as the center of N�s life, not only in terms of priority, but also as a kind of master identity marker which dictates other facets of who she is�as a student, as a practitioner of literacy, as a worker. Literacy�in the form of reading to the kids, imparting lessons and morals, engaging in the codes of waitressing, pursuing a particular field at University�is not merely a humanistic pursuit but in equal part a pragmatic need, a function of identity (especially identity as a mother). AUB students seem as fascinated by this connection (literacy and practicality) as they are by the fact that their American peers all work at least part-time jobs. Same student later notes that N recently chose to write a research paper on bullying, a topic, he observes, relevant to her career and her personal life. Ryan finds Nicole�s literacy practical, pragmatic, bent on job preparation but also ethical, familial (and gendered) goods. ; --The sites of literacy also move, seamlessly it appears, among work, school, and home. AUB student surprised and impressed at this convergence and the utility of literacy for her Dearborn peer.The AUB students see education for their American peers is rarely an abstraction and often more overtly connected to other facets of life. Several connect education and literacy�and plans to become teachers�to motherhood. These connections happen in interesting, gendered ways. R positions motherhood as the center of N�s life, not only in terms of priority, but also as a kind of master identity marker which dictates other facets of who she is�as a student, as a practitioner of literacy, as a worker. Literacy�in the form of reading to the kids, imparting lessons and morals, engaging in the codes of waitressing, pursuing a particular field at University�is not merely a humanistic pursuit but in equal part a pragmatic need, a function of identity (especially identity as a mother). AUB students seem as fascinated by this connection (literacy and practicality) as they are by the fact that their American peers all work at least part-time jobs. Same student later notes that N recently chose to write a research paper on bullying, a topic, he observes, relevant to her career and her personal life. Ryan finds Nicole�s literacy practical, pragmatic, bent on job preparation but also ethical, familial (and gendered) goods. ; --The sites of literacy also move, seamlessly it appears, among work, school, and home. AUB student surprised and impressed at this convergence and the utility of literacy for her Dearborn peer.

13. II. Literacy & Culture Student writing underscores complex nature of globalized cultures Resists easy, pat (east meets west) narratives; literacy an arena for discovering those complexities: One AUB student reports that her monolingual partner struggles at her daycare job because many of the children there only speak Arabic Illustration of how visible and striking globalized cultures are

14. Culture, cont. Another AUB student reports that her peer-partner (a young Lebanese-American woman) is teased by her cousins in Lebanon for her spoken Arabic and her spoken English This becomes a shared literate experience, along with trying to preserve spoken Arabic (e.g., teaching kids the language) Telling diction: one AUB student says her American partner �admits� to using African-American spoken dialect

15. Culture, cont In fact, from what she has told me it seems that where Z lives Lebanese culture and conventions are even more prevalent than in some parts of Lebanon itself. There are many things that are �frowned upon� in her society and that her parents with their Middle Eastern mind-set would not allow. Going out with her guy friends for example, especially at night, is one example. A guy (friend) picking you up from your home is considered �Ayyb� (Arabic for morally wrong) to some people around her, she says. Also Z expresses her surprise at the difference she has noticed in the way people in Lebanon and people in Dearborn view dress symbols like the veil she wears. In Lebanon, she remarks, �men are very upfront�. That is because she notices they flirt with any girl randomly as she walks by despite the fact that she is wearing the scarf. In Dearborn, or America in general, wearing the scarf gives off a signal for �don�t flirt�. I explained to Z that in my opinion this is not an issue of Lebanese men�s ethics and behavior as much as it is an issue of �dress code� interpretation. In some areas of Lebanon, Bint Jbeil where Z is from, for example, most women wear a scarf and so wearing a scarf does not give off any messages, it is just the norm. In the U.S, on the other hand, because only a number of females, mostly Arab and conservative, wear a scarf it gives off the distinct signal Z mentions. R expresses the idea that Dearborn may be more Arabic than Beirut, given the prevalence of visible markers like the hijab, whose signification shifts in interesting, and not wholly predictable or easy to articulate, ways between the two places. R expresses the idea that Dearborn may be more Arabic than Beirut, given the prevalence of visible markers like the hijab, whose signification shifts in interesting, and not wholly predictable or easy to articulate, ways between the two places.

16. Culture, cont. It made me think more into the clash in society and culture between the east and the west, something I�ve always been keen to observe. I know for a fact that most Arabs think like me; learning is never their aim. For us, it's more about getting a degree for the sake of it rather than getting one because we're learning things in four years that we've never known before. �[I�m] not majoring in my dream course because factors to do with the society have limited my choice. I wondered if maybe such factors or even other facets have affected her preference for Education. R surprised me by saying that an exterior aspect hasn't affected her decision at all�I always knew that the West was different, but I didn't think it would be that controversial. R seems to dislike the way freedom and democracy are so enforced, but I would have embraced it if I were in her place. Westerns are probably more individualistic than Arabs, but at least they get to go after what they want without having to consider the views of a million people beforehand. Differences in cultural norms pop up in the reports too, as when one AUB student reports, almost with awe, that her American counterpart is a single woman who does not live at home with her parents, instead sharing an apartment with a single man with whom she shares a platonic relationship. Another AUB student explains that her Dearborn counterpart is 41, �to my amazement.� Another AUB student contrasts the types of violence perceived to be common in the two respective settings, stating that in the U.S. �apolitical violence� is a concern in urban centers�which she contrasts with Lebanon�s political turmoil. Differences in cultural norms pop up in the reports too, as when one AUB student reports, almost with awe, that her American counterpart is a single woman who does not live at home with her parents, instead sharing an apartment with a single man with whom she shares a platonic relationship. Another AUB student explains that her Dearborn counterpart is 41, �to my amazement.� Another AUB student contrasts the types of violence perceived to be common in the two respective settings, stating that in the U.S. �apolitical violence� is a concern in urban centers�which she contrasts with Lebanon�s political turmoil.

17. III. Complicated Attitudes toward Arabic Ambivalence: respect and reverence for Arabic, but also a critical edge Several AUB students allude to a love of Arab literature, regret for language loss among youth, and the trans-cultural/shared attempt to prevent that loss Shared phenomenon: parents speaking in Arabic, children responding in English Several report on American peers� taking language/religion courses on the weekends, a common practice in Dearborn�they express positivity in that this is linguistic/cultural preservation, but negativity in the courses sometimes seem like burdens and the Americans often feel as if (and are told that) their accents are bad

18. Arabic, cont. One AUB student calls Arabic �aggressive, crude,� and others equate Western languages with modernity (�in order to seem sophisticated,� one student says) We�ve both come to see how in Lebanon and Beirut especially, it is unfortunately quite common to find young people from our generation, born and raised in the Arab world, withholding a very weak Arabic. M discussed how back in the States, children who are second [generation] immigrants are less likely to speak the language because �they snob off the Arabic, as if they didn�t want to make the effort to actually speak it anymore�, which we both realized was also the case here in Lebanon as well. As M says, �people are so drawn towards the West without really appreciating what they have in the Middle East. We who live abroad are just dying to go back and people who live there are dying to get out!�

19. IV. Academic Literacy Many more shared experiences (fewer points of contrast) Common frustrations: learning citation styles, focus on plagiarism, drudgery of the �research paper� genre, their teachers� focus on what they deem superficial matters like number of sources Fewer mentions of their teachers� intellectual expectations Reading often equated with a lack of agency, a nostalgia for �fun� reading of childhood

20. Academics, cont. Positive regard for writing assignments that involve some level of topic selection and encourage original analysis instead of rote regurgitation of course content AUB students report that their peers write in school genres including, most commonly, essays, summaries, syntheses, lab reports, and lessons plans Frequent admiration for the breadth and �inclusive� nature of writing among their American counterparts

21. V. Extra-Curricular Literacy AUB students express interest in their peer-partners� use of literacy as workers and family members, but less interested in pop culture touchstones Seem to find material pursuits more worthy (or more interesting?) than popular pursuits However, numerous �popular� literacy artifacts are also shared: e.g., Twilight books

22. Extra-Curricular Literacy, cont. Numerous AUB students mention their counterparts� experiences being read to as children or reading to their own children, often mentioning that this is less common in Lebanon: It seems like a ritual passed down from generation to generation, which gives comfort, love, and support to children while growing up. This is a ritual that is rare in Lebanon, but it is substituted by other means of expressing maternal love.

23. Extra-Curricular Literacy, cont. Artifacts that AUB students mention: Women�s magazines Entertainment media�s coverage of favorite reality tv shows/stars Poetry writing (several times) Journal writing (frequently cited�perhaps a function of the sampling, heavy on ed. students) Jane Goodall books Close reading of food labels Mitch Albom�s Tuesdays with Morrie Twilight books (several report loving them, several report hating them) Christmas cards �Mommy blogs� Fashion magazines Wedding Planning magazines Letters to those serving in military Writing an autobiography Books on spirituality Reading children�s books out loud to children

24. Extra-Curricular Literacy, cont. Frequently mentioned shared artifacts: Texting as the most common way of communicating with friends The ubiquity of social networking Twilight books Harry Potter books Glee Debating religion and politics (must be �Lebanese genetics,� one student jokes) Some of these shared literacy moments also represent an identification that seems to go beyond a generic �we�re really all the same,� liberal clich�. Students seem fascinated�not in a fetishizing way�by the literate connections, which are indicative of global mass culture (Twilight books) and the linguistic-cum-cultural connections between Dearborn and Beirut. Some of these shared literacy moments also represent an identification that seems to go beyond a generic �we�re really all the same,� liberal clich�. Students seem fascinated�not in a fetishizing way�by the literate connections, which are indicative of global mass culture (Twilight books) and the linguistic-cum-cultural connections between Dearborn and Beirut.

25. Extra-Curricular Literacy, cont. Literacy as an occasion to connect shared familial history too: Most often due to ethnic connections of Lebanon and its corresponding diaspora community in Michigan But also this: �It is fascinating how many parallels can be drawn between the lifestyle of people such as R, and the Lebanese lifestyle. For example, the native language, as we have seen before, is not the preferred language, English is preferred to Spanish [R is Latina and describes losing Spanish], and French is popular at the expense of Arabic� Not all the identifications revolve around pop culture. Two AUB students�writing collaboratively�describe their American partner�s familial history, including the student�s father having to drop out of school to do farm work, and see this as a point of identification, noting that in Lebanon, too, rural life can sometimes restrict education and literacy Not all the identifications revolve around pop culture. Two AUB students�writing collaboratively�describe their American partner�s familial history, including the student�s father having to drop out of school to do farm work, and see this as a point of identification, noting that in Lebanon, too, rural life can sometimes restrict education and literacy

26. VI. Critical Stance toward Technology AUB students offer a pervasive (almost obligatory) critique of social networking, which is largely absent in the reports of their American counterparts Normalizes a �we all do it too much� assumption Idea that skyping et al can make communication less �intimate� and moodle et al make academic communication less �critical� Common narrative: the �I got off facebook� story Common diction: �X admits to texting often� and �Y admits that she uses facebook daily� Mentions of the challenges of skyping due to time change attitudes are attributed to the American students, but the diction and/or the inclusion of the sentiments in the reports are authorial decisions made by the students in Beirut, who seem to find this critical edge obligatory, or a way to build authority and ethos. Ethos construction via technology put-downs�a common trend in the reports written by Beirut students. Perhaps the students think this is what their professors want to hear; interestingly, the American students don�t feel the need for this type of apology or hedging. attitudes are attributed to the American students, but the diction and/or the inclusion of the sentiments in the reports are authorial decisions made by the students in Beirut, who seem to find this critical edge obligatory, or a way to build authority and ethos. Ethos construction via technology put-downs�a common trend in the reports written by Beirut students. Perhaps the students think this is what their professors want to hear; interestingly, the American students don�t feel the need for this type of apology or hedging.

27. Technology, cont. One AUB student explains that technology almost caused a rift: her American counterpart asks if this is her first time using skype and she takes it as an insult about the Middle East being �backwards� Same student reports that her peer-partner�s use of the term �Insha�Allah� instantly healed the potential rift: one shared word was all it took Paradoxically, same AUB students who critique technology in the ABSTRACT often end up praising technology�s CONCRETE ability to bring them together with their new friends: A multitude of positive feelings regarding how the interview went. C was particularly really satisfied with the intimate encounter, and it was evident when she updated her Facebook status only a few minutes later saying:� just had the loveliest conversation with two brilliant women in Beirut. My sincerest appreciation for a world full of people who want to connect to each other and be the change they want to see in/on our shared planet. Thanks, god. Thanks, Skype." These types of closing common in the reports, which is gratifying.

28. Works Consulted City of Dearborn Website. Web. 28 April 2011. �About UM-Dearborn.� The University of Michigan Dearborn Website. Web. 28 April 2011. �Student Profile.� The University of Michigan Dearborn Website. Web. 28 April 2011. Ghosh, Bobby. "Detroit's Unlikely Saviors." Time 176.19 (2010): 50-53. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 28 Apr. 2011. Canagarajah, A. Suresh. �The Place of World Englishes in Composition: Pluralization Continued.� The Norton Book of Composition Studies. Ed. Susan Miller. New York: Norton, 2009. 1617-1642. Print. Hesford, Wendy S., and Eileen E. Schell. �Configurations of Transnationality: Locating Feminist Rhetorics.� College English 70 (2008): 461-470. Print. Schaub, Mark. �Beyond These Shores: An Argument for Internationalizing Composition.� Pedagogy 3 (2003): 85-98. Print.