Western Asia Day at Penn
On March 24th, 2015, the Middle East Center hosted several students and their teachers from Moorestown Friends School as part of the its K-12 outreach programs. Students and teachers were particularly interested in learning about Middle Eastern countries and their cultures. To provide the visiting students with a diverse wealth of information on the subject matter, three Penn graduate students presented on the region and two major Middle Eastern countries. Osman Balkan, PhD Candidate in the Department of Political Science, made a general introduction to the Middle East. Two other Penn graduate students Basak Taraktas (PhD Candidate in Political Science) and Ali Karjoo-Ravary (PhD Candidate in Religious Studies) talked about Turkey and Iran respectively. At the end of their presentations Penn students led a Q & A session with the high-schoolers and their teachers. The Middle East Center periodically hosts K-12 students or send qualified graduate students to schools in the greater Philadelphia area to enhance the knowledge about the region among K-12 educators and students.