I've been back a couple of weeks now, and I find myself thinking often of my time in the Middle East. I followed my colleagues' blogs obsessively after I left, hungry for the sounds and sights I had grown accustomed to during my travels. I hear news stories and can picture much more vividly where the events are occurring. I long to swim again in the Dead Sea. I'd even love to have another mud treatment.

Since I can't go back right now, I've worked on developing a pretty rigorous reading agenda, and so I thought I'd share with you what I've been reading and what I plan to read as I think about designing my course, "Nefertiti's Daughters," to be offered as part of the Core curriculum in fall, 2009.

I'm an avid reader, and so even before I left for the Middle East I looked for books to give me some context and a taste of the region I'd be traveling to. I read Geraldine Brooks' Nine Parts of Desire, and while I was overseas I read Finding Nouf, a wonderful mystery set in Saudi Arabia, and Three Cups of Tea, which is a truly inspirational story. When I got back I surfed a bit and also asked friends and colleagues for recommendations. A big box just arrived from Amazon; here's what's in it:

The Map of Love, by Egyptian writer Ahdaf Soueif
Standing Alone: An American Woman's Struggle for the Soul of Islam, by Asra Nomani
Persepolis, a graphic novel by Marjane Satrapi
Married to a Bedouin, by Marguerite van Geldermalsen
Infidel, by Ayaan Hirsi Ali
In Search of Islamic Feminism, by Elizabeth Fernea
Qur'an and Woman, by Amina Wadud

I can't wait to dig into these books, and also to track down a few films. Many of these, I suspect, will find their way into my Middle East course.

For now I'm content to be an armchair traveler. My journey will continue, this time in the comfort of my home in Winooski, Vermont (where I don't have to haggle with drivers and I can brush my teeth with tap water), and I'll keep you posted. In the meantime, if you have any suggestions for texts you think I should read or view, please let me know.