About Professor Fam

When Professor Fam implemented an Arabic Studies Program at the College of Charleston in 1980, he did not foresee the crisis of the Gulf War or the events leading to and resulting from 9/11. Instead, Fam recognized the lack of educational opportunities for students to better understand, to communicate with, and to professionally collaborate with individuals from Middle Eastern cultures. He set about creating a comprehensive Arabic Studies program that would honor both the academic integrity and the cultural richness of the College of Charleston.

According to Fam, the primary goal of the College's Arabic Studies program is "to enable students to communicate in standard Arabic in the shortest time possible." He created an Arabic Studies program that focuses on written and spoken standard Arabic, and introduces students to Arab society, history and culture. Fam has ambitiously worked to meet this goal since the program's inception in 1980, but his "baby," as he likes to call it, has journeyed to become "the most comprehensive" Arabic Studies program in the state of South Carolina.

The popularity of the program demonstrates the fruit of Fam's decades of investment. When Fam began the Arabic Studies program at the College, he had only one student enrolled. By 1997, that figure rose to almost a dozen, and since 2003 an average of 135 students enroll each semester.

The increase in interest and participation in the program is promising because of the heightened focus on Middle Eastern Studies as a national priority in the United States. The demand for Arabic speaking people, Fam explained, is much more intense and "much wider in perspective" than previous trends. National security issues and a "tremendous increase" in the availability of jobs for Arabic speakers in both public and private sectors have made it one of the most popular offerings in foreign language studies.

Supplementing the intensive curriculum, the Arabic Studies program also sponsors a club for students who are interested in languages and cultures. The club's extracurricular activities include gathering for Arabic conversation, Middle Eastern cooking classes, and belly dancing lessons.

Arabic classes appeal to a wider range of scholars that the traditional C of C students. Professor Fam has had a number of the College's faculty enrolled in his program, including Dr. George Pothering, who began taking courses in the fall of 2002. According to Pothering, what distinguishes Fam's program from others is "the non-intimidating, enjoyable atmosphere Professor Fam brings to the class." Pothering adds, "You also get some interesting insights into Arabic culture."

The Arabic Studies program provides a vigorous strategy for gaining insights into crucial contemporary global issues as well as insights into the people around the world affected by these issues. Through offering students the linguistic and cultural tools necessary to help advance the ties between Western and Middle Eastern cultures, Fam and his colleagues have helped him these seemingly disparate worlds.