New CASAR Mission: Creating an Intercultural Dialogue

Edited by: Vereena Bishoy

Photo Taken By: Omar Abozeid

From being a military diplomat in countries like Senegal and Gambia to becoming the new director of the Prince AlWaleed Center for American Studies and Research (CASAR) – Mark Deets’ new goal is to help deepen the understanding between the United States (US) and the Middle East.

CASAR is one of six globally located research centers that were founded by Prince AlWaleed and the Saudi Royal family after the 9/11 attacks with the goal of reducing culture-based misunderstandings and creating an intercultural dialogue.

According to Deets, the four research centers in the US and the UK share Middle Eastern culture with the West, while those in Cairo and Beirut explain American culture to the Middle East.

“Our mission is to explain and translate American culture, ideas, and politics to the people living here in the Middle East and to build an understanding to avoid future conflict. A first goal would be to increase our visibility,” said Deets. 

He said that while there had been general tension between these two parts of the world, they have also been historically linked, especially when we start talking about the history of the automobile and the oil industry.

Deets believes that not enough students at the university know about the center, which he finds bizarre.

“We put the ‘America’ in the American University of Cairo,” Deets said.

His intentions are not to advertise for the US and American exceptionalism but rather to be critical of the American project.

“We don’t want to be cheerleaders for the US, but whether you like it or not, it is an influential country. Understanding it will make us smarter global citizens,” he said.

The center has multiple approaches in trying to achieve its goals. The first one is a minor in American studies. While not many students have graduated from the minor, Deets believes interesting courses like ‘Is America Still a Superpower’ taught by visiting professor David Dumke from the University of Central Florida will draw students to the program. 

“The US-Egyptian relationship is a long and important one for both countries, so it’s important for the people to know more about each other. This [CASAR] is an important center for facilitating a greater understanding of what issues, challenges, and history is out there,” said Dumke.

Dumke believes that there is always a fear of the unknown that goes back to education, both in Egypt and the US.

One of Deets’ goals as director of CASAR is to do a better job at cross-listing courses so that more students can get credit for them, even if they are not in the minor.

Another approach of the center to increase an understanding between the cultures is to interact more with the student body.

“For the students, one of the main things we will have going on is debates. We will choose some controversial topics such as the morals of the death penalty or the abortion issue,” Deets said. 

Further down the road, Deets plans to invite Fulbright scholars to strengthen the research sector and hopefully organize a conference.