Lecturer
Contact
100 Bay State Road, Room 308
abirward@bu.edu
Education
2022 Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Ph.D. in English: Composition and Applied Linguistics
Dissertation: The Literacy Publishing Practices of Multilingual Science Researchers and the Challenges Burdens of Publishing
2010 Lebanese American University
M.A. in Comparative Literature (Arabic/English)
Thesis: The Motifs of Eyes and Feet in Irish and Lebanese Poetry, Dance, and Caricature: Resistance and Rebellion of the Suppressed Voice.
2002 San Jose State University
B.A. in English Language and Literature (Honors in English)
Current Courses Taught at BU
WR111 Academic Writing for English Language Learners 1
WR112 Academic Writing for English Language Learners 2
WR120: Academic Writing: Linguistic Injustice
This course examines the subject of linguistic (in)justice in a world designed to favor English as a global language, making it the international language of business and science’s “lingua franca.” This has led to a myriad of hidden linguistic injustices shaped by the sociopolitical landscape of the world. How is the Global South disadvantaged by linguistic injustice? Through a variety of texts ranging from theoretical to creative, and through socially engaged assignments, students hone their writing skills and learn to turn this injustice into an empowering platform. Readings include texts by authors from North America, India, the Middle East, and Europe.
WR120: Academic Writing: Dance and Resistance in Historical Traditions
This course explores dance as an expression of resistance in European, West African, Middle Eastern, and aboriginal dance traditions. The course delves into the rich historical context where dance serves as a powerful form of rebellion against cultural oppression, censorship, and the stifling of native languages. Throughout the course, we will consider the following questions: How do dance steps communicate resistance? When is the role of dance as a platform for declaring unvoiced messages of defiance established? Why are the messages of resistance in dances performed to sung poetry different than hose set to music alone or beats? What do various thematic connections between dance traditions help reveal about the concepts of offense, defense, space, and place in dance?
Biography
Born and raised in Monrovia, Liberia to Lebanese parents, Dr. Abir Ward, a multinational and multilingual, had lived on three continents before the age of 20. She taught at the Lebanese American University where she started the annual creative writing workshops and poetry competition and at the American University of Beirut (AUB) where she led the editorial work of Pages Apart, a 700-page academic reader used for teaching English. In 2019, Dr. Ward founded 2Rāth, a social justice initiative engaged in the politics of representation. 2Rāth helped create articles on Wikipedia about notable Arab women, and its work has so far garnered over 20 million views. Dr. Ward has published numerous articles on justice-oriented pedagogy, and her research has appeared in Elsevier’s Women Studies International Forum, TESOL’s SRIS, and Computers and Writing Conference Proceedings. She was the recipient of the CCCC Wikipedia fellowship in 2021 and the Middle East Partnership Initiative grant from the US Department of State. At Boston University, Dr. Ward teaches primarily international students in the Writing Program and is the curator of TEDxBU.