An Anything But Textbook Egyptian Expedition

If you have had any association with Carleton University over the past several years, it’s very likely that you have heard the phrase “Anything But Textbook.”

The slogan is meant to illustrate Carleton’s commitment to delivering a post-secondary education that breaches the confines of lecture halls and classrooms.  Professor in the College of the Humanities, Greg Fisher, believes resolutely in this approach to teaching, so whenever it is possible he does his best to facilitate Anything But Textbook experiences for his students.

A recent example of this was the role Fisher played in enabling fourth year undergraduate student, Kathleen McFarland to partake in an academic trip to Egypt, an experience that epitomized the Anything But Textbook mantra.

Fisher was scheduled to attend a conference in Egypt organized by the Orient-Institute Beirut, and saw it as excellent opportunity to permit McFarland a chance to experience her area of study first-hand.

A minor in History (majoring in Journalism), McFarland is currently in the process of completing her Honours project under Fisher’s supervision.  Her research looks at state/tribe relationships in the late Roman Empire and though her focus is Western empires, and this conference centered on Eastern situations, Fisher abides by the maxim that in one way or another, everything is connected.  In this case, he is certainly correct.  It is well known that many similarities existed in how Romans managed both Eastern and Western tribes.  Fisher was also aware that McFarland had been tactfully considering  a career in academia, and felt it would be beneficial for her to see how an academic conference functions.

“Kathleen is an engaged student who is well motivated and ambitious.  I think it’s crucial for students like her to learn outside of the classroom environment as often as possible,” said Fisher.

McFarland has always possessed an innate interest in human history and past civilizations, so visiting Egypt ranked very high on her to do list.

“I have been captivated by Egypt since I was a little girl – seeing the pyramids was something I’d dreamt of since I first developed the reading skills to devour those Magic Tree House history books.  The whole city was intoxicating; it floods all of your senses. In so many ways, it was an incredible learning experience.”

While in in the Land of the Pharoahs, McFarland and Fisher visited as many sites as possible and partook in a diverse range of learning activities.  They crawled through the Great Pyramid of Khufu and visited the Sphinx.  McFarland received a lesson on Islam in one of Cairo’s oldest Mosques, saw, in person, King Tut’s death mask and spoke to the many protestors in Tahrir Square about Egypt’s current juncture of fragile transition.

 

 

While touring Islamic Cairo on their last day in Egypt, McFarland and Fisher visited three separate mosques.  As they stepped inside the third mosque, the call to prayer rang out across the city.  At this moment, McFarland was very cognizant of the fact that she was truly experiencing a culture she had learnt so much about, and was so interested in, while living on the other side of the planet.

 

Though all these were stunning, eye-opening experiences for McFarland, what resonated most was being immersed in the potent state of a country in social flux.  Although she had been paying close attention to the events in Egypt through the news back home in Canada, McFarland quickly discerned that only so much can be understood when observing something dramatic from afar.

 

“There is so much more to it than what fits in that three-minute news segment.  Egypt has held my fascination for so long. For me, to stand in this place and see some of the earliest roots of civilization, it was the realization of a personal dream. And then to have the amazing opportunity to stand with these people, most of whom were my peers, my generation, and seeing them fight for democracy; it was a remarkable juxtaposition of ancient civilization with modern civilization, still undergoing change. I had seen the Sphinx, the pyramids, King Tut’s artefacts; now, standing in Tahrir Square as people protested for their rights, it really demonstrated to me where our world has been and how it is changing. It makes you aware of civilization’s progress, and I was quite conscious of the fact that I was standing at an important point on that continuum. What will this place be like 10, 100, 1,000 years from now? Will there still be fighting for democracy? What will Canada be like? Civilization isn’t fixed; it is a very moving thing.”

 

 

Egypt’s fight for democracy is something that affects the entire world, but standing with the people of Cairo, whose lives are impinged in every aspect by this upheaval, has given McFarland a more authentic global understanding.

“I think it gave me a much deeper appreciation for and better insight into a momentous event in Middle Eastern history and politics,” explains McFarland. “It was an unforgettable experience to be able to stand in the middle of it and understand everything it represented, especially for the Egyptian people.”

 

 

Submerging yourself within an entirely different context promises to cause a moment of contemplative introspection.  Yes, McFarland left Egypt with a finer understanding of the world; but she also left with many unanswered questions.

“There was much about Cairo that was difficult.  You do see some very raw scenes of poverty and squalor.  You need a strong stomach, and to accept that you can’t help them all.  But in a certain sense, it did motivate me to help in a longer-term way.  It has redirected my career interests in that way, as well as my own personal incentive to help in a non-professional context – for example, I am looking into volunteer initiatives in developing countries for next year before graduate school.  Specifically I would hope to use my degree to help with independent media initiatives, or to teach English.”

Since leaving Egypt, Mcfarland has begun work as a communications intern with CARE Canada, a non-profit organization who have been working against poverty in Egypt since 1954.

University is all about asking broad questions and self-discovery.  Fisher and McFarland’s adventures in Egypt emphatically addressed both of these crucial components of academic life.  For these reasons alone (and many others), McFarland would recommend students to seize these types of opportunities while completing their post-secondary education.

“Well, as Carleton likes to say, the experience was certainly Anything But Textbook. Opportunities like these provide a whole other dimension to academic studies; it is a chance to see the real-world applications of what you are learning. University is more than just writing papers and exams; it is also about personal, interpersonal and professional development, and I think that was a large incentive for me doing this trip. It is just a different learning experience than one inside a classroom. And really, quite honestly, it was just so much fun – which is always important, too!”