Nevine Abraham
Assistant Teaching Professor of Arabic Studies
- 341G
341 Posner Hall
Department of Modern Languages
Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
Education: Ph.D. The Ohio State University, Twentieth Century French Literature and Culture, M.A. Kent State University, French Literature, B.A. Faculté des Langues, Ain Shams University, Egypt.
Bio
I joined Carnegie Mellon University in 2012 as a French instructor but soon became engaged in developing the Arabic program. My faculty teaching position started in Fall 2022. Throughout my involvement in the Arabic program at CMU, my teaching experience has focused on the Arabic language and Arab literature and culture. I developed a first-semester online Arabic course that teaches the Arabic writing system, modern standard Arabic, the Egyptian and Levantine dialects, and Arab culture.
My research draws on my teaching to build my students' intercultural competence. It focuses on literary and cultural studies and examines minorities in the intellectual, social and political history of the Middle East and North Africa.
Areas of Interest
- Coptic and contemporary Arab identity
- Human and minority rights
- Arabic literature, citizenship
- Cinema studies and censorship
- Palestinian studies
- Food politics
Courses Taught
- Introduction to French Culture
- Elementary through Advanced Arabic
- Arab Culture Through Dialogue, Film, and Literature
- Understanding Cultural Complexities: Minorities in the Middle East and North Africa
- Dietrich College Grand Challenge First-Year Seminar: Palestinian and Israeli Food Cultures
Selected Awards and Honors
- Recipient of the Institute of International Education & The Aspen Institute's Stevens Initiative Harnessing Innovation Through Virtual Exchange (HIVE) Sub-Award (Spring 2018 to Fall 2019)
- Recipient of The Simon Initiative Seeds Grant 2023
Selected Community, University, and Professional Service
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Translation of City of Asylum resident RaMa’s short story “Love is the Essence of Life” and short poems "Scream of Liberation" and "A Vast Void.” Summer 2021
- Volunteer at Jewish Family and Community Services in Pittsburgh and The Alliance for Refugee Youth Support and Education Academy
Selected Publications
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Abraham, Nevine. “Copts in the National and Religious Discourses: A Narrative of Resistance in Shady Lewis’s Ṭorok al Rab (Ways of the Lord) (2018).” Mashriq & Mahjar: Journal of Middle East and North African Migration Studies, 11(1). 2024. https://doi.org/10.
24847/v11i12024.393 - Abraham, Nevine (2023). "Mobilizing Religious Differences and Terrorism, Negotiating Civil Rights in Egypt." Digest of Middle East Studies 32(2).
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Abraham, Nevine. "Patriarchy, Subordination, and Rise of the Individual in Hisham Matar's In the Country of Men." Arab Studies Quarterly 43 (4). 2021.
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"The Complexity of Belonging: Reflections of a Female Copt," ORIGINS, The Markaz Review, September 2021.
- Abraham, Nevine. "Censorship, Public Opinion, and the Representation of Coptic Minority in Contemporary Egyptian Cinema: The Case of Amr Salama’s Lamo’aķhza/Excuse My French (2014)." Journal of African Cinemas 13(2.3), 2021.