Southwest Asian and North African (SWANA) Heritage Month is recognized nationally throughout the country in April. and Sacramento State community members have discussed how to carry this recognition throughout the year.<\/p>\n
As an Iranian-American born and raised in the United States, Sahar Razavi, an associate professor of political science, director of the Iranian and Middle Eastern Studies Center and faculty scholar advisor in the SWANA Center said people from the SWANA region are often grouped together and perceived alongside the region\u2019s political tensions rather than as individuals with their own experiences.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s very easy to find information about the region and its people that is framed in a national security framework. That\u2019s not the kind of information that\u2019s going to teach you about people and culture,\u201d Razavi said. \u201cIt\u2019s the kind of information that treats people, religions, cultures as chess pieces and not human beings.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marwa Al Khamees, the director of the SWANA Center, said SWANA Heritage Month is a time to celebrate the contributions and different cultures brought from the region, representing a time of hope and joy in the darkness.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe region is literally the cradle of civilization, of writing, medicine, hospitals, education,\u201d Al Khamees said. \u201cIt can feel a little disheartening to only see your region portrayed in a negative light in the news, and so [it\u2019s] bringing more awareness to non-SWANA people about the region.\u201d<\/p>\n
Amelia Qin is an assistant professor of history and humanities of East Asia. Qin said that she hasn\u2019t seen much public focus on SWANA, but it is important because it creates familiarity with these groups.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt offers an important aspect to a balanced representation of all cultures and communities that we engage with in Sacramento,\u201d Qin said.<\/p>\n
Raising awareness to instructors teaching world history and religions could highlight SWANA contributions to the local community, Qin said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe would want specialists \u2013 faculty specialized in these areas to be hired on campus right, to start their teaching here and design courses that focus on these areas,\u201d Qin said.<\/p>\n
Micheal Vann, a professor in the history department, said that integrating the ideas of intersectionality into education can allow SWANA to be highlighted outside of one heritage month. He said many students coming into his classes don\u2019t know about the SWANA region.<\/p>\n
\u201cI teach big world history classes where I talk about this part of the world and frequently, many of my students have had very Eurocentric educations in regards to history and know a lot about Europe, but don\u2019t know about the glories of Baghdad or the Ottoman Empire,\u201d Vann said.<\/p>\n
Vann said he encouraged students to develop their knowledge of the world to become more informed and interesting people. He said the practice has been changed through the expansion of area 3B, the Humanities course in the general education requirements, which used to further highlight various global cultural traditions.\u00a0<\/p>\n