Ms. Doria Elkerdany

Office Hours: M 10-11 & F 1:15-2:15, Zoom only
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CV

Professional Biography

I received my M.A. in Teaching Arabic for Non-Arabic Speakers from the American University in Cairo. I was born in Cairo, Egypt, and spent my childhood and school years in Mansoura, which is a smaller city in northern Egypt with a beautiful agricultural landscape and very kind and open-minded people. I received my B.A. in Journalism and Mass Communication from Cairo University (1980) and worked for a few years for Sabah El Kheir magazine in Cairo. I worked after that as a teacher and manager of the AUC kindergarten for 9 years. I have also worked as a freelance puppeteer. In 1998, I had a job at the AUC Bookstore; meanwhile, I started studying for my M.A.

Before joining the Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at UNC in August 2009, I had taught various levels of Arabic courses (classical and colloquial) at the American University in Cairo.

I have two published books (in Arabic) and am currently writing my third book which is a historical novel. I am also working on a travel book about my trips to India, and a biography book about my mother and her generation of Arab-Egyptian women.

I love travelling and exploring different cultures. I went around many places: Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, Tunisia, Emirates, England, Germany, Austria, France, Belgium, Greece, Turkey, India, and Mexico. I have visited many areas all over Egypt, and I take every chance to travel in the USA. My wish is to travel more to Latin America, the Far East, and Africa, inshaalah.

I have one daughter, Laila Hassan Soliman, who is a successful theater director & playwright.

Publications

Hekayat Al-QiTaT (Stories of Cats), Short stories & a novelette (in Arabic), Cairo, Nov. 2015

Rimal Na’emah (Fine Quicksand), a novel, Cairo, August 2011.