Higher education faculty members from colleges and universities throughout the state are in Morgantown this week to learn about the lives of women in Islamic nations through a West Virginia University program funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Two of the nation’s leading scholars of women, Islam and Arab cultures will provide lectures and lead discussions on June 5 and 6. Yvonne Haddad, Ph.D., is a faculty member in Georgetown University’s Center of Muslim-Christian Understanding, and Hibba Abugideiri, Ph.D., is a professor of history and international affairs at The George Washington University.

The WVU Center for Women’s Studies and the West Virginia Consortium for Faculty and Course Development in International Studies (FACDIS) received the NEH grant last year to support a year-long faculty and curriculum development project on”Women in Islam.”

“When teaching my Judaism and Islam class, I find that there is limited information concerning the role of women in these cultures,”said Vicki C. Phillips, a program participant and a professor of religion at West Virginia Wesleyan College in Buckhannon.”I am always left with wanting to know more and teach my students more. This seminar is a great way to educate the faculty of West Virginia.”

Bringing together 15 faculty members from around the state representing a wide range of disciplines, the project requires each participant to create a new course or revise an existing course that will educate students about the role of women in Islam.

The participants are involved in lectures and group discussions Monday through Friday of this week and then will depart Friday afternoon for a two-day series of activities in Washington, D.C. In the nation’s capital, the faculty members will visit the Islamic Center of Washington, tour the Textile Museum to examine Islamic textiles and view Islamic art at the Freer and Sackler galleries on Saturday. The group will visit the Museum of African Art and the Museum of Natural History on Sunday.

Participants represent higher education institutions from throughout the state, including Shepherd College, Marshall University, West Virginia Wesleyan College, Fairmont State College, Wheeling Jesuit University, and WVU . Their disciplines include education, English, history, political science and psychology.

“We are pleased to bring Dr. Haddad and Dr. Abugideiri to campus,”said Ann Levine, assistant project director for FACDIS .”Dr. Haddad came to our campus a year ago, and we are happy to see her back. We have been preparing for their visit by reviewing our own knowledge of women in Islam during the first part of the week.”

Haddad and Abugideiri will present several lectures, titled”Islamic Law and Women’s Rights in Muslim Societies,”“Women and Feminist Movements in 20th Century Islamic Society,”“Muslim Women in North America”and”Women and Islam in the Classroom.”

The group first met in conjunction with the annual FACDIS conference in November 2002. During this time they discussed common readings and strategies for teaching about women in Islam. Before meeting in Morgantown this week, the group communicated via the Web. The final session will be in conjunction with the 2003 FACDIS conference in November.