The Area Study Centre for
Africa, North and South America was established under the 1975 Area Study
Centres Act of the Government of Pakistan. The centre is an autonomous body,
funded by the Ministry of Education through the Higher Education Commission
(HEC). It is academically part of Quaid-i-Azam University, affiliated with its
Faculty of Social Sciences.
With as many as 34
departments/ schools and 6 centres/ institutes, Area Study Centre (ASC) is
perhaps, the more serene and tranquil owing to surroundings in flora and fauna or
because of its distant proximity from the hustle and bustle of the main campus.
ASC depicts a diverse aura
of students – coming across Pakistan. Students keep busy with their cell phones
and laptops, some are having chit chat at outside the building, studying in
the silence of the library or having clicks between the flora and fauna of the Centre. It is a dreamland where hopes are born, dreams are
nurtured, paths are woven and memories of a lifetime are knitted.
For the current generation of
QAU students, the experience of the university is marked by many little things.
Whether it be tea stalls run by our beloved "Majeed" at main huts,
the overly liked ‘Crisis” in the menu, the music and the festivals, the long
walks from main campus to ASC and countless other experiences that add to the
memories of our campus life every day.
Starting my first semester
at the ASC in February 2022, I found its small faculty very cooperative, dedicated
and student-friendly. The faculty comprises Dr. Sadia Sulaiman, who was
incharge of the centre, and went on leave as soon as our 2nd
semester commenced, handing over the responsibility to Dr. Bahramand Shah. Other
faculty members include Dr. Tahir Jamil, Dr. Munawar Hussain, and Dr. Ayesha
Siddiqa- all assistant professors.
ASC is deprived of
permanent director (the head of the centre) for a long time for reasons best
known to QAU administration, and first the Vice Chancellor (VC) now Dean Social
Sciences continues holding this charge. The building encompasses a number of
rooms but surprisingly, M.Phil students are attending their classes either in
an internal library or in a seminar room while PhD scholars have a dedicated
room, much smaller to their expectations. Despite all odds, the projector’s
availability in the classroom was another phenomenon because of parallel scheduled
classes of M.Phil and Ph.D (at the same time). And once, we had it, our classroom
was well and truly called a ‘smart classroom’- because we had that dedicated
piece of wall for the image, that was further divided into few (torn) pieces.
The ASC has
produced over 400 M.Phil quality theses. However, over the last few years, ASC
has been marred with a number of controversies including theft/ misplacement of bulk
of expensive books donated by US Embassy to ASC’s library while Dr. Sadia
Sulaiman was the incharge of the Centre. The inquiry of this case still is in
progress.
During our
studies, ASC in collaboration with US Embassy organised 16th
International American Studies Conference: Seventy-Five years of US-Pakistan
Relations. Privy to development, a senior student told this scribe that
collaborative efforts are always good but in this particular conference not a
single student of M.Phil ASC was
invited. “We (the students) came to know about this international conference
through social media platforms. It would have been a learning experience for
all of us, had we been part of it,” he lamented.
Sharing his classroom
experience in the Centre, he said female
faculty members of ASC are found neither punctual nor regular in the classroom and
that has become a routine. “This grave concern has been conveyed to VC office
and the office asked the response, after which I do not know how this issue was
resolved,” he said. He said many of complains were also raised about the M.Phil
students’ theses that were comprising 40-45 pages with ordinary content.
By the time I am
inscribing this, Dr. Sadia Sulaiman would have rejoin the centre as its in-charge.
She taught us Research Methodology (RM) for a brief period of time before going
on a semester break. Dr. Sulaiman, without an iota of doubt, is an incredibly genius.
She is polite and humble to all students and faculty alike. She believes in
meritocracy.
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Dr. Sadia Sulaiman: an inspiring educator, a role model
|
She has completed her PhD from Nanyang Technological University,
Singapore. Her area of interest is Strategic Studies. Students to whom I have talked
to, believe that Dr. Sulaiman has been an inspiration, and her kind and
positive attitude will always be remembered and we make sure to be in contact
with her forever. One of a brilliant student
of our batch opines, “Dr. Sadia's brief but impactful presence left a lasting
impression on me. Her teaching style and expertise in research methodology won
my heart, making the subject come alive with practical applications.”
She goes on saying, “in
just two weeks, Dr. Sadia's teaching approach for research methodology struck a
perfect balance between theory and practice. Her on-point guidance and
practical demonstrations made the subject truly awesome to learn,” she
concludes.
A good teacher must be
committed to continuing their own learning, keeping themselves up to date with
new theories and practices, and being open to feedback and improvement. Dr.
Bahramand Shah is one of this kind. He is knowledgeable, approachable,
adaptable, organised, passionate, positive, empathetic, and a life-long
learner.
He is a genuine humanist who is never shy of acknowledging role of females
they are playing in the society. “I must give credit to my female faculty
members, in particular- for they are fulfilling responsibilities in much better
way here in the Centre & later at home. Males usually do the domestic
chores, reluctantly, which supposedly to be done by them with keen interest,”
he maintains.
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| A cursory glance gives an impression this man on podium is a Spokesperson for the US State Department, but actually its our very own Dr. Bahramand Shah (a beguiler). |
Dr. Shah’s classroom is
perhaps the more interactive than any of faculty members. He often starts in
murmuring voice “...oh my god… what you guys think about it”, and the never
ending debate starts.
Dr. Shah is quite a
masquerader in ASC as far as his ‘foreigner look’ is concerned. He is a cool
and composed faculty member. He obtained his PhD from Indiana University of
Pennsylvania, USA. He is also a Fulbright Alumnus. Dr. Shah’s teaching and
research interest is in American Literature. He is a well-groomed, soft-spoken
and a docile character. He taught us Multi-Cultural literature in USA.
Dr. Shah believed that our
Batch of 2022 was the best in terms of commitment of seeking knowledge.
However, when I talked to him later in 2023, he was of the opinion, “This
current Batch (of 2023) is the best. Each student is enrolled on merit.” I was
a little surprised to hear that, I wanted to say something in response, but I
smiled back at him without saying a word, knowing well his words are magical
but identical for all (Batches). When asked have you ever gone through that
experience of ‘existential crisis’ or ‘nihilism’ as of Herzog (a professor)? He
affirms saying yes, I did, and came out of it without struggling. He said he
does not believe in discriminating students by their caste, creed, colour or
ethnicity, but he judges his students in classroom through their thoughts and
what they write on papers in exams but I use my own peripheral vision, above
all. Dr. Shah is a gem of a person, very friendly, and encourages each student
for a critical thinking to broaden understanding.
A female student (while not
being gullible) observes that “Dr. Barhamand Shah's serious demeanor and
focused approach greatly impressed me. His concise and direct communication
style ensured efficient delivery of information, while his unwavering
professionalism maintained a high level of decorum throughout the course.”
No faculty member of ASC
has reached to that fame or exposure as of Dr. Munawar Hussain as far as
appearance on television screens or youtube or social media platform is
concerned. Dr. Hussain, without doubt, is a well-informed, rhetoric and a tastefully
well-dressed person. His area of interest is international affairs. In an
ambience of a classroom, his behavior varies too often. Starting his lecture
with (his pet words) “….. to bunyadi tor per bat ye hay ke….” he inculcates theories
of International Relations, Philosophy, metaphysics, empirical evidence, and
much more in one lecture to evaluate and justify the methodological choices a
student made in Research Methodology (RM)- an art of science only Dr. Munawar
could handle. For his teaching methodology, ‘all level of analysis” fall into
pieces. Once in a cluster of students, pointing towards me said, “This fellow,
Mahtab is my favourite students” that surprised many. Now, I would say (reciprocally), Dr.
Munawar is the best- as they say, “you scratch my a** (read back) and I’ll
scratch yours”.
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Sharing light moments with Dr. Munawar Hussain
|
He is ‘expect the
unexpected’ kind of a person. At times, he is found vulnerable as he watches students
with cell phones in their hands. Other moment, he reacts like a stickler, an
orthodox about discipline but many of students believe that Dr. Munawar is a
swagger. His other characteristics, a student on condition of not to be named describes
as, “during paper marking, he focuses on a particular student’s behavior in the
classroom.”
His lecture sometimes
reaches to an irrelevant point (that’s a story of some other time, perhaps). Despite
the fact in verbosity, he intermingled George Bertrand Russell or Stephen
Hopkins, (four genius into two) intentionally or a slip of tongue or in
confusion, Sir Munawar is a trumpcard of this department.
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Dr. Munawar Hussain: A life-long mentor
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Overall, the
classroom temperature in his lectures remained cool, calm and often filled with
laughters until a blunt response of a student haunt us and Sir Munawar in
particular. I tried to pacify the issue requesting first to that shopaholic
student either to cut down her month spending on shopping and later Sir Munawar
to find other parallel source of income to match that. (pun intended). Dr.
Munawar Hussain is also a top-notched vlogger. He is running his independent
youtube channel with the title “Diplomatic & Current Affairs with Dr.
Munawar Hussain”.The moment I am writing
this, subscriber of his channel would have been surpassed over 1 million. Inculcation
of morality/ moral values in a contemporary youth is a staple diet of his
lectures. Sailing in so many boats at a time, one must say that Dr. Munawar is
a good time-manager. Not being punctual, however, is his Achilles heel.
Teaching and learning
go hand in hand. A good teacher never stops learning. With the education sector
changing every day, teachers need to learn and upskill themselves. Dr. Munawar
is such a class act who learns everyday and shares his insight thoughts not in
a classroom but thorough his youtube channel.
Dr. Munawar is a self-made
person, who is intact with his indigenous cultural roots. The classroom environment is
important for fostering cultural awareness, he tries to ensure diversity in his lesson plan. He broadens national and international affairs
to encompass the world beyond a state’s history and culture. Regardless of the
subject, he always focuses to present and connect lessons to real-world issues.
Dr. Munawar is a built-in
Quidian. He has graduated from QAU, did his M.Phil and Ph.D from this top
ranked university of the continent and a part of faculty of ASC for long time
now. “I am a made in Pakistan, and I am proud of it. Dr. Jaspal, Dr. Cheema and
you name it, there are so many great names in research who were product of QAU- who are serving as distinguished professors in world’s top-notched varsities,” he
said adding long ago he was offered from Stanford University, USA but he
continued serving for/in his own land.
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Students with Amb. Nadeem Riyaz- a keynote speaker in ASC's series of seminar
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He is
an inspiration of so many students. American Study Club (ASC) would never have
been flourished without his unconditional commitment. He alongside Club’s cabinet
members invited a number of diplomats, dignitaries for a series of lecture. Dr.
Munawar is full of ideas who believes that Pakistan will never default but ‘cypher’
was a reality.
In this Centre of Excellence, if some one could find a garrulous character, that would be none other than Dr. Tahir Jamil aka TJ. When one starts talking to him, he/she will only find Dr. TJ a ‘walking lexicon’. He is an erudite, sagacious and a progressive person who raises voice against ‘the elite capture’ all the time.
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Dr. TJ- a gentleman at par, a music buff who loves Indian oldies
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“I have never had a fight with anyone, or may be I don’t remember now. But one thing is for sure- I respect everyone and expect likewise from others. I am least bothered about students’ life outside the centre, because I don’t want to. All I could say about student-teacher relationship is- one must be humble and polite with an urge to learn, debate and produce,” and this is the whole story like that.
Dr. Tahir Jamil achieved his Ph.D degree from Claremont College, USA. He is a Fulbright alumnus. His focus of interest is American Politics and Public Policy. Dr. Jamil has got a strong and finest sense of humour, which could tickle your ribs but only few labeled it a ‘warped sense of humour’. He is spontaneous on various issues ranging from domestic to international affairs, socio-economic to religio- politics.
Having out of the box thoughts, Dr. Jamil always encourages students for critical thinking. "Comparatively, girls are more difficult to judge, they are more deceptive than to boys and they cram more than boys. That's why female students are hard to judge but a teacher ought to be smart enough to judge each student," Dr. Jamil says.
Students who grumble Sir TJ not following the course outline, soon realized how things are interlinked with one another. Dr. Tahir Jamil is a down-to-earth, who loves to spend his time with students on huts or cafeteria no matter how unhygienic food or atmosphere is around him.
His meaningful sarcasm and low-profile attitude in and out of the classroom has earned him a reputation of a genuine scholar- of which he avoids to flaunt off. Dr. Tahir Jamil also holds the charge of students’ affairs ASC.
Dr. TJ's contagious jollity adds a delightful twist to history lectures, making them engaging and enjoyable. His energy and enthusiasm ensures that no student experiences a moment of dullness in his class, a student says.
Dr. Ayesha Siddiqa is
presumably the youngest faculty member of this centre of excellence. She earned
her Ph.D. in English Literature from University of Durham UK on a Commonwealth
Scholarship.
Her teaching and research interests include African American
Studies, Postcolonial Studies, and Critical Theory. Known for her disciplinary
approach in the classroom, Dr. Siddiqa maintains a cheerful and interactive
classroom rather than a disorderly one which might encourage disruptive
behavior.
I was unfortunate enough
not to able to opt any of course taught by her, but students while talking to
this scribe always spoke high about Dr. Siddiqa. She is a lady with great
character, very dominating, punctual and quite reserved at times. Probably, she
is the only faculty member who gives full justice to her profession- be it an interaction
with any of student, reply of text messages or emails or debate in the
classroom, she is always encouraging.
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believes empathy is more powerful than sympathy
|
Though a hardcore feminist, Dr. Ayesha
Siddiqa, however, never has carried the belief to belittle male students as far
as grading is concerned. She is one of the most popular teachers because of adaptability,
empathy and patience. An engaging classroom presence, value in real-world
learning, exchange of best practices, love of learning and creating ideas are
what she expects from her students. All is picture perfect as far as Dr. Ayesha
Siddiqa’s classroom is concerned, she is very rigid in awarding marks. “She
will not give away a grace mark or two, no matter what. Perhaps, she is not
having that much big heart when she is numbering our papers,” a complainant
student said adding but it’s good that she doesn’t oblige anyone even if he/she
is her favourite student.
Sharing her experience of
ASC about Dr. Ayesha Siddiqa, Arfa Khan, a student of M.Phil III recollecting
her memories says, “I have had a great experience studying in ASC, particularly
in Dr. Ayesha Siddiqa's class. Her professionalism and passion for her job are
evident, making the learning environment engaging and inspiring, she says
adding despite not being a literature student, American literature class with
Dr. Ayesha has been a standout for me. “Her teaching style and enthusiasm have
made the subject enjoyable and accessible, capturing my interest in ways I
didn't expect.
She says, ASC's department
is fortunate to have Dr. Ayesha Siddiqa, whose dedication and expertise in
teaching American literature shine through. “I appreciate her ability to make
the subject matter compelling and relevant, fostering a positive learning
experience for students from various academic backgrounds,” she keeps on
talking.
Our batch consist a mixed
bunch of students. We have had the ingenious talent of Tahreem and Tabinda on
one side, Asad and Mujeeb on the another- all are gifted in many ways.
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| We work together, & we achieve more? |
As far as the atmosphere
of the class was concerned, it was very cordial. During exams days, few of ‘elites’
(as we all known or are told to be) were found nervous. I was always the first
to put away my cell phone (on the table, despite the fact I only use only one).
Chicanery in classroom was not seen quite often, but few exceptions were there
believing in “when the cat is away, the mouse shall play”. The backup or
supportive staff of ASC, at that critical moment proven themselves ‘a
supportive staff’ but only for those students. In a nutshell, I
thoroughly enjoyed first two semesters at Campus. I don’t wanna say goodbye but
– I’ve to.
QAU was not a new place
for me as I used to play on its Cricket arena during my school and college
days. Later, one of my college classmate Raja Tahir (now Dr. Tahir Mahmood, HoD
Department of Economics Karakuram International University (KIU) forced me to submit
admission form for M.Sc- which I still remember we did at the last moment. I
obtained my M.Sc degree from here (2000-2002) before joining the media
industry.
Fast forwarding, many
people including faculty members have been found instrumental during my stay at
ASC. I owe special thanks to all faculty members, office staff, library
officials and others.
No faculty member,
parents, or a colleague could rectify those few of devious students who are
involved in wasting their times either in drug addiction, infatuation or student politics hovering around for long time
at QAU - for them a tiny advice ‘Time might be a healer but it’s more like a cruel
teacher” is to say the least.
Being a President of ASC, I
owe a great debt of gratitude to my cabinet members. Prior to this, my special
thank goes to those mates who in ‘a surprising or unprecedented move’ elected
me as President of American Studies Club- for this I am more obliged to Fatima
and Alishba. It would be sheer injustice if I forget to mention the names of Arfa, Mujeeb and Asad for their unflinching support for they were more instrumental than that president to be.
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With incumbent President ASC
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I am thankful to Khalil-ur-Rehman (now President ASC) for his
cooperation. During political turmoil and fragile economic conditions, this was
perhaps the only ‘smooth transition of power’ that was handed over from a
former president to incumbent President ASC.
I am more indebted to my
classmate and office colleague Aftab Maken, who through all odds bears me
through thick and thin. Despite the fact being working journalists, we both
struggled initially but that academic chasm between full time students and us
was not so big.
Words are totally
inadequate to express my respect and appreciation for my teachers and
classmates for their continuous sharing and creation of knowledge, and
assistance- virtually unparalleled! Though I’ve not seen all faculty members
under one roof during the course of time, they found unanimous saying “positive
classroom environments don’t happen, teachers create them”.
Apart from all, a year
(two semesters) we spend in the university are in many ways the formative years
of our lives. The friends we make, the stories we live together and the culture
that encircles our lives play a huge role in shaping us as individuals. QAU has
been a hub for promoting and nurturing different forms of art and science since
the beginning. This environment alone has created many talented people serving
all over the country and abroad in respective disciplines.
Despite many things that
we wish to change about this institution, it is still the place for us where we
got to live the best years of our lives.
We, as a family of ASC, share
a common love for the university and its campus from our shared but individual
experiences of this university- seeped into the sweet memories of the different
phases of all our lives.
"I had a good time on
the campus. In a way, I feel very lucky to be part of a department that always
promoted free-thinking. I encountered teachers that I absolutely loved as well,”
said a student.
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| ASC in inter-departmental cricket tournament does well. We are ousted in the semis. |
It is here that I met my
most influential and life-changing role models who not only chiselled and
shaped my life, but continue to inspire me even to this day. It was my good
fortune that I found such worthy role models among my Professors. Each one of
them inspired and motivated not only me but also all the students under them.
University life is perhaps
the only phase in life when you will be able to be yourself, trying out
entirely new things, finding your passion, and exploring life without any
tension at all. My days at the University were a challenge and enlightening
experience for me. It facilitated my personal growth and development and
provided me with life-long attributes. I feel that I am a kind of a detached
soul with a practical outlook towards life. But still I miss people from my
past – Places. Time, memories, smiles and laughters, I can relate to everything
I left behind.
Rounding off this piece of
writing, I would quote a comment from one of a senior and revered journalists Kamran
Rehmat, on a farewell letter written by Dr. Ilhan Niaz (Department of History,
QAU) to all the students, he says and I quote “as farewell notes go, this one from the erudite Dr.
Ilhan Niaz could aptly be described as the story of Pakistan and its Titanic
drift, and therefore, serves as a stark warning to the short-changed youth to
get their act together. You can read it and weep. Or stand up to be counted.”
Goodluck all mates!
The writer is a student of
M.Phil at ASC, QAU, Islamabad, who believes in ethical journalism.
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