Cultural Resources for Arabic Learners

Arabic Cultural Resources

Books

• Unfortunately, It Was Paradise Selected Poems by Antoon, Sinan, Amira El-Zein, and Munir Akash.

This book, published in 2013, includes translated poems from the well-known Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish. The book is available through the UW-Madison library.

• Connected in Cairo: Growing Up Cosmopolitan in the Modern Middle East by Mark A. Peterson.

The book, published in 2011, provides rich details about the processes and social practices that create class identities in Egypt. The book delves into topics likes Pokemon, coffee shops, education, and much more to provide insights that extend far beyond Egypt.

• Women of the Midan: The Untold Stories of Egypt’s Revolutionaries by Sherine Hafez.

This book, published in 2019, details how women were a vital part of the Arabic Spring revolutions. The book contains firsthand accounts from women involved in the protests and sheds light on the history of women’s activism.

Documentaries

• Speed Sisters

A documentary on the first all-women race car team in the Middle East. It’s an interesting story that also highlights the realties of living in the West Bank.

• The Making of the Modern Arab World

This documentary series was created by BBC and is available online. Each episodes talks about the events and people that influenced the region from the 19th century and up until the Arab Spring revolutions.

Food Blogs

The websites below are developed from people in the region who and have delicious recipes that anyone can try!

• Arabic Food Recipes

• Orange Blossom Water– This blog is written by a Syrian women who now lives in Dubai. It has a lot of Syrian recipes.