Students tour exhibit that shows Islamic world through women's eyes

LCI students tour the National Museum of Women in the Arts.

Last week, students and faculty in Fairfax took a field trip to the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C. There, they saw an exhibition, "She Who Tells a Story."

This landmark exhibition of more than 80 photographs and a video installation challenges stereotypes surrounding the people, landscapes, and cultures of Iran and the Arab world. "She Who Tells a Story" refutes the conventional idea that Arab and Iranian women are oppressed or powerless, illuminating the fact that women are creating some of the most significant photographic work in the region today.

Their provocative works, most created within the past decade, include portraiture, documentary, and staged narratives. Many of the artists develop expansive series of images that create compelling narratives about feminine identity, war, occupation, and protest.

Below, read essays by two students on their reactions to the field trip.

Class welcomes special guests; student talks his way to the top

Guests included: (back row, from left) Jerry Sauter, Steve Bull, Bob Miller, Susan Miller, Pat Turner, (front row, from left) Ariel Hylton, Norma Bull, Erin Bull, and Bonnie Sumner.

The LCI's Advanced Studies Elective class in Blacksburg recently welcomed nine guests who were charged with evaluating students speaking to a prompt. Each student responded to five prompts with five different judges. All of the guests were former colleagues of instructors Bonnie Sumner and Pat Turner.

Says Bonnie: "The students seemed to enjoy the activity, and our guests were complimentary of the students they worked with."

A toast to the Toastmasters

In other news, students from LCI recently attended a Toastmasters meeting that convened in the annex.

Ibrahim Hamdan

Ibrahim Hamdan received first place for the Best Table Topic, an impromptu speech. Ibrahim's topic was to imagine he was a published author on a tour promoting a new book titled "The Body in the Kitchen."

Ibrahim adeptly took the topic from a murder mystery and segued to a commentary about how we seldom take time to notice all of the details around us in our daily lives.

In addition to winning first place in his category, he was the only person who did not have any "ah, um, you know, etc." in his speech. He was also the only LCI student to speak.

Congratulations, Ibrahim!