Faculty
Salman Amir
Visiting Assistant Professor of Arabic
Salman Elamir Amir earned his Ph.D. in Islamic and Middle Eastern studies from the University of Michigan (U-M) and his M.A. in teaching Arabic as a foreign language (TAFL) from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies and Middlebury College. Previously, he taught Arabic at Syracuse University, Washington and Lee University (W&L), and U-M. At W&L, Amir developed and taught an advanced Arabic media course on the Syrian Revolution. His research focuses on Islamic philosophy, Ismaili thought, Druze studies, the reception of Greek philosophy in the Islamic world, minorities in the Middle East, and modern Arabic literature of the Nahda (Arab Renaissance). Amir recently published an article in Brill titled “Embryology in Antiquity, Islam and the Druze Religion.” A native speaker of Arabic and Hebrew, he creates engaging, student-centered courses that connect language, history, religion, and culture.
Mireille Koukjian
Associate Professor of Instruction in Arabic
Mireille Koukjian’s research interests include second language acquisition and using technology to improve students’ learning in the foreign-language classroom. She recently was invited to the “Arabic TALK conference” at West Point to present work on using technology-assisted Arabic language teaching and learning, along with methods of assessment for the Arabic classroom. Koukjian earned a master's degree in education from Université Saint Joseph, in Beirut, Lebanon. She is a visiting instructor in Arabic in the Critical Languages Program.
