Departments of English at Arab Universities and the Challenge of Globalization

Abstract

Realizing that the world has shrunk and that a global perspective is deemed vital for one's citizenry to obtain, it is time as we are stepping in the third millenium to reconsider how the humanities, including languages, can contribute to this new and enlarged view of the world. Language is one of the major disciplines of humanities, which are concerned with human self­ expression. It is in their languages that the people of this universe preserve for subsequent generations the tradition of their thought and wisdom, both secular and religious. Writers and poets record the wide range of human experiences, which serve as the basis for the common bond for all mankind. This includes love and passion, selflessness and egotism, loyalty and betrayal, the joy of living, the agonies of aging, the existential fear of dying7 the humility of man, fear and courage, and the ultimate greatness of man. It is doubtless that the sum of all thinking, of chronicles and feelings is carried by language and thus, the humanities are all said to be language centered. The present paper is an attempt to shed light on the new demands that the departments of English at Arab universities should meet in the light of the worldwide move towards globalization. This eventuaily entails including and investing elements of global education as a me s to further English 215 language learning. More awareness of the global culture is needed and has to be carefully reflected in syllabus design and study plans in terms of scope and sequence and selection of teaching materials. This could\be actualized through the inclusion of culture studies from other parts of the globe so as to keep up with the ever-increasing cosmic changes. Moreover, it is a major task of the departments of English to demonstrate in their study plans how to raise awareness in their students that judgments on the relative superiority of some cultures are at best dubious. The global perspective, which has to be adopted by all humanities including languages and literature, attempts to transcend the national boundaries and even the larger realm of the cultural sphere. This new outlook has to open the broad panorama of contemporary events all over the world. Besides, serious consideration is to be given to the future and cultural politics of English as an international language in the age of globalization, in addition to the new role and input that literature can have in the light of the paradox of a fragmented global village. Moreover, civic issues, values and virtues and the cause of citizenship are now of global interest and thus have to be addressed within the global perspective by all educational institutions. It seems quite obvious that the fact that promoting good citizenship as one of the most commonly stated values in the mission statements of our colleges and universities is overlooked. .