Azza Ahmad is currently an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies. Since
joining the UC Berkeley faculty in 2020, Professor Ahmad has introduced a number of new
courses to both graduate and undergraduate students centered on the interpretation and linguistics
of historical and traditional Islamic texts. Professor Ahmad’s research interests are at the
intersection of Islamic studies, language pedagogy, and linguistics. Throughout her courses,
pedagogical techniques of language teaching (the subject of Professor Ahmad’s Ph.D. research)
are often incorporated when reading texts of the Islamic tradition. Professor Ahmad obtained her
Ph.D. in foreign language education with a specialization in teaching Arabic as a foreign
language from the University of Texas at Austin.
Prior to joining UC Berkeley, Professor Ahmad taught Arabic language, culture and pedagogy at
various institutions throughout the United States, including UCLA, UT Austin’s Arabic Flagship
Program, and Middlebury College’s Arabic Summer Intensive Program. Additionally, Professor
Ahmad has conducted teaching workshops throughout the United States and has worked as a
cultural consultant for various public institutions. Prior to pursing her Ph.D., she introduced,
taught and coordinated the Arabic language program at Oklahoma State University where she
received her M.S. in journalism and mass communication. Her thesis was on the portrayal of
women in Egyptian television commercials. Professor Ahmad obtained her B.S. in mass
communication from the University of Cairo.
RECENT COURSES:
- Women in Islam
- Qur’anic Studies
- Prophetic Biography
- Historical Texts
- Images of Mohammad in the Literature
Islamic Studies: Qur’anic Studies, Reading Islamic Traditional Texts, Islamic Feminism; Language Pedagogy: Teaching Effectiveness, Learners’ Motivation, Learners’ Metacognitive Knowledge; Linguistics: Qur’anic Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic, Dialectology in the Arab World
