Bassam Frangieh is a scholar of contemporary Arabic literature and culture. He is best known for his pedagogical innovations in the study of the Arabic language, as well as his translations of modern Arabic poets and novelists. Frangieh also lectures on the society and culture of the Arab world. A language professor as well as a scholar and writer, Frangieh has achieved moderate fame in the American academic world of Middle Eastern Studies for his engaging educational methods.
Education and career
Frangieh was born in a refugee camp in Lebanon in 1949. His family, Palestinians who had owned an orange grove in Yaffa, had been relocated there due to the conflicts associated with the creation of the state of Israel. His family is distantly related to the famous Frangieh family of Lebanon, including former Lebanese presidentSuleiman Frangieh, but the Palestinian Frangieh family tree diverged from the Lebanese family tree several generations ago. Frangieh eventually moved to Syria to attend university, earning a B.A. from Damascus University in 1976. While in Syria, he earned fame as a boxing champion and professional soccer player. Frangieh attended graduate school in the United States, and received a Ph.D. in Arabic literature from Georgetown University in 1987. After receiving his doctorate, Frangieh taught Arabic at Georgetown for several years before accepting a position at Yale University. After his resignation from Yale in 2007, Frangieh joined Claremont McKenna College as a full-time Arabic professor and the head of the Arabic Department for the five Claremont Colleges while writing and researching new Arabic books. He is the head of the Middle East Studies Department.
Controversies
In April 2010, a campus publication at the Claremont Colleges published statements Frangieh had made or signed onto supporting controversial organizations in Lebanon and Palestine.
During the 2006 Lebanon War, Frangieh signed a petition in support of "Lebanese resistance" organization Hezbollah. The petition referred to the Hezbollah cross-border raid that resulted in the capture and death of 3 Israeli soldiers as a "heroic operation." The petition also urged "Arab intellectuals to stand beside the Lebanese Resistance" and to boycott the "Zionist killing machine."
In 2007, Frangieh signed a petition calling a Senate resolution to divide Iraq a "Zionist plot," led by "Zionist masters" who work with "Cowboys" and "flee their countries in search of riches," thereby purposefully undermining a "strong Iraq" and dragging it into a "barbaric war."
Several of Frangieh's textbooks celebrated Palestinian martyrdom. They appeared in textbooks used in middle schools in Palestine and Saudi Arabia.
In the ensuing aftermath, Claremont McKenna Vice-President of Public Affairs and Communications Richard Rodner was accused of attempting to cover up Frangieh's past statements. Past statements Frangieh made were briefly deleted from his Wikipedia page by a user under the name "RRODNER." The faculty at Frangieh's college decided to vote on whether to censure Frangieh for his past statements. Ultimately, Claremont McKenna College Faculty voted against censuring Frangieh.
