Eileen Lundy, from the Department of English, Classics, Philosophy and Communications at the University of Texas—San Antonio, and Edward Lundy, professor from Austin Community College, both took great pleasure in the opportunity to teach Jordanian students and work with their faculty.

The husband and wife team first discovered Jordan during an archaeological trip to the country while teaching in the American Culture and Literature Department of Bilkent University in Turkey.

“We have been connected to American studies programs in Venezuela, Ecuador and Turkey,” Ed Lundy said. “Finding out that there were Fulbright Scholar awards available to Jordan was wonderful!”

The Fulbright Scholar grants allowed the two to further develop the relationship between America and countries abroad through education and the teaching of American studies. “When we went there,” said Eileen Lundy, “the American Studies Department had just recently moved under the umbrella of the English department. This presented a challenge to language and literature professors to coordinate an interdisciplinary program calling for history, culture, political and economic studies, etc. That gave us the opportunity to help guide them in developing their curriculum, and they’re hungry for it,” she said.

“It was good because the American Studies Program was only available for graduate students,” Ed Lundy said. “Teaching in the English Department also gave us the opportunity to work with undergraduate students.”

The couple found Jordanian students both curious and hard working. Students who were in both Ed’s and Eileen’s classes were given the opportunity to learn more about American culture. Eileen Lundy has particularly fond memories of working with a young student on her paper linking Arabic poetry to Arab-American poetry. She believes that work such as this will help promote cultural understanding between peoples.

The couple was also able to give seminars and symposiums to faculty and help coordinate a mini-conference between students and faculty. “If you are patient and keep working in finding allies in mutual exchange, you can make something good happen,” said Ed Lundy.

The Fulbright Scholar experience has given Ed Lundy  fuel for his next project. He plans to write a textbook introducing American culture to students in the Middle  East in collaboration with faculty members from the region. His hope is to bridge understanding between the influence of geography in culture and family. Eileen Lundy will also be working on preparing material and guidance for those individuals who will be working in American studies in the Middle East and moving their programs toward a comparative focus.

The American Council for Oriental Research (ACOR) in Amman, Jordan has since given the Lundys a six-month grant to continue their work in Jordan. ACOR—a private, non-profit academic institution with an excellent relationship with the University of Jordan—is just one example of how the Lundys used their Fulbright Scholar grant to continue their mission of cross-cultural and academic exchange.

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