Contact
GTA Principal Instructor, Faculty of Arts - Modern Languages and Cultural Studies Dept
- hatallah@ualberta.ca
- Availability
- Office hours: Wednesday, 12:00–2:00 p.m., Old Arts 317-A, or by appointment.
Overview
Area of Study / Keywords
Translation Studies Archive Theory Palestinian Literature Comparative Literature Testimony Arabic Literature
About
I am a doctoral student in Transnational and Comparative Literatures in the Department of Modern Languages and Cultural Studies at the University of Alberta, where I also teach Beginners' Arabic. I completed my BA and MA in linguistics and translation at the Islamic University of Gaza, where I continue to teach English literature remotely, primarily Elizabethan and Victorian. Before beginning my doctoral work I taught English at AMIDEAST for seventeen years, in TOEFL preparation, English for specific purposes, and general language instruction. I serve as a Section Editor at Connections: A Journal of Language, Media and Culture.
Research
My dissertation, "Archives in the Making: Palestinian Testimony, Translation, and Circulation," asks how Palestinian testimony becomes an English-language record and where that record is subsequently held. It distinguishes the operation that produces the English text from the editorial and platform sites that receive and keep it, treating translation itself as a form of archival custody rather than a neutral transfer. My work draws on translation studies, archive theory, and life narrative, with particular attention to contemporary Gazan writing and to the conditions under which it circulates.
Teaching
I teach ARAB 111: Beginners' Arabic I at the University of Alberta, an introduction to Modern Standard Arabic covering the sound and writing systems, basic grammar and vocabulary, and everyday communication.
I also teach English literature remotely at the Islamic University of Gaza, primarily Elizabethan and Victorian literature, and previously taught TOEFL preparation, English for specific purposes, and general language courses at AMIDEAST.
Courses
ARAB 111 - Beginners' Arabic I
Introduction to pronunciation, reading, writing, and conversation for students who have not been exposed to conversational Arabic. Note: not to be taken by students with Arabic 35 or its equivalents in Canada and other countries. Not open to students with credit in ARAB 112, 113, 114.