Visual Literacy:  Letting Our Students See the Past for Themselves

Aramco World:  A Valuable Visual Resource Available to All World History Teachers

Wendy Eagan

Walt Whitman High School

    As soon as my copy arrives in the mail, I hurriedly rip off the plastic covering and sit down quickly to languidly revisit one of my favorite regions of the world. I can tour majestic mosques and admire exotic  palaces, review the impact of  medieval Islamic science, recall  the arresting sounds of regional folk music, plan tasty exotic meals, sail along the Niger River or into the Indian Ocean, admire beautiful silken clothes, shop for spices and natural remedies, or  plan  upcoming lessons on many other topics.  I am referring to Saudi Aramco World which is a bimonthly magazine published by the 75 year-old Aramco Services Company.  The stated goal of this richly designed resource is to "broaden knowledge of the cultures, history and geography of the Arab and Muslim worlds and their connections with the West."   It is available to all world history teachers free of charge by subscription after request at http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/about.us/subscriptions and can also be accessed online at http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com.  Classroom sets are also available by request at SAWorld@aramcoservices.com.  Since all world history courses cover the region, it is a valuable resource for instructors interested in taking advantage of the varied thematic content and the enlightening photographs and illustrations which accompany many articles.

    Although I was fortunate enough to personally walk through the splendid mosque of Ibn Tulun in Egypt (http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/200501/a.city.adorned.htm), through Saudi Aramco World my students also can see those minarets.  In addition they can easily travel overseas to Turkey and take a 360 degree  virtual walking tour of  "The Suleymaniye Mosque"  ( September/October 2006 http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/200605/) from their laptops.

    The "spherical panoramic photographs that place you inside the image" are as magnificent as the audio tour is informative. If you cannot get to Istanbul next year on a field trip, this is the next best thing. Anyone wanting to go to Spain for just one classroom period easily can visit "The Alhambra (July/August 2006 http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/200604/). This is Granada's "greatest masterpiece of Islamic architecture" whose history goes back to the year 711. Students can just click a mouse and take the trip of a lifetime with another virtual walking tour from their school computer lab.

    The most recent edition of this publication (May/June 2007 http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/200703/ ) features articles that cover "…mathematics, astronomy, medicine, optics, physics, chemistry and even evolutionary theory…" written in Arabic from scholars in Samarkand to Shiraz, Bukhara to Baghdad, and Cairo to Cordoba. The illustrations that accompany the text are excellent visual documents perfect for composing portions of DBQ's (Document Based Questions) for students who are studying the intellectual underpinnings of the European Renaissance.

    "Saudi Folk Music:  Alive and Well" (March/April 2007 http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/200702/) brings the sounds of 50 men gathered at an oasis surrounded by date palms in the desert. They are performing a traditional song and dance on a soccer field that establishes a poetic melody which varies by town and region all over Saudi Arabia. Photographs of the men in traditional dress can be seen as students simultaneously listen to the audio recordings. (http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/200702/saudi.folk.music.alive.and.well.htm)

     Often students connect easily with content when first introduced to the cultural traditions of regions under study. Who has taught a student who didn't like to eat?    "Cooking in Hunza" (May/June 2006 http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/200603/) introduces the reader to some great cooks of Pakistan who have produced a first-ever recipe book from a northern valley. Julie Weiss has written a Classroom Guide that guides students with activities and questions. For instance, she asks students to analyze a photograph of a featured dish, Baloganze Pitchu, by asking which portion of the image is the actual completed dish versus the ingredients which go into the dish. She also asks thematic questions that link the article to other parts of the world. "What encourages connections between people in different places?" A perfect fit for hungry young cooks and world history students.

    Wheat is Hunza's main staple food. Rice, otherwise so common in Asia, cannot be grown in the mountainous terrain and high-altitude climate, and so different breads and wheat-based dishes replace it. Other grains such as buckwheat and barley are also cultivated. Maltash is "aged butter," prepared from milk that is scalded before churning. Its strong taste is so valued that maltash is a gift for births, weddings and funerals—taxes can even be paid in maltash. The older the maltash, the more valuable it is. Wrapped in birch bark and buried in the ground,it may lie for years or even decades before the head of the family decides it is time to dig it out. Kurutz is a salty, sour, rock-hard cheese that is a favorite soup flavoring. It is made by boiling down lassi (see page 43), together with a piece of older kurutz that gets the enzymes started, as in sourdough bread. The resulting soft paste is pressed and sun-dried. Similar cheese is made from Mongolia to Tibet.

    An entire class can emulate Leo Africanus's journey and sail "The River" (March/April 2005 http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/200502/default.htm) where "some of Africa's greatest empires rose and fell."  This historic region of West Africa is described and illustrated by detailed maps and informative photographs of the current inhabitants of what Henry Barth, a European explorer, called "the great river ….whose name under whatever form it may appear…means nothing but "The River."

    Another volume that is almost priceless for world history teachers is July/August 2005, which is dedicated to The Indian Ocean and Global Trade. (http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/200504/default.htm) Teachers can introduce lessons based upon this topic by the online Trade Routes map which can be enlarged and manipulated easily in the class or at home.  "The Seas of Sinbad"  (http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/200504/the.seas.of.sindbad.htm) features a map  from the first printed edition of Islamic cartography .

    Young navigators and future traders may also tackle "Monsoons, Mud and Gold" http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/200504/monsoons.i.mude.i.and.gold.htm).Our current dollar currency can be compared to that of the Middle Ages by looking at Venetian golden ducats struck in 1282 or silver Turkish dirhams struck in the 1240's. 

    Also included are profiles of Marco Polo, Ibn Battuta and Zheng He, topics addressed by so many instructors and of general interest to many students.

    So many other articles and images make this copy nearly as precious as the commodities traded in the Indian Ocean.

     In "Tied with Tradition" (March/April 2007), author Lucien de Guise notes that "the Silk Road is by no means the road less traveled these days."  Students interested in possible careers on Seventh Avenue may be enthralled by the "strong colors and bold patterns typical of Central Asian ikat" which are multicolored silk coats featured in this story of traditional weaving and trading practices. (http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/200702/tied.with.tradition.htm)

    Feeling a bit under the weather?  Check out "Natural Remedies of Arabia" (September/October 2006 http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/200605/natural.remedies.of.arabia.htm) and discover the folk medicines available from vendors in suqs that mothers have long used for natural healing practices. Detailed historical overviews, advice and wonderful images make this article the next best thing to walking through the bazaar and asking the experts yourself.

    I can only just begin to introduce this resource to classroom instructors and students. I suggest, however, that readers take their own personal journeys through the index of this magazine, which is easily accessed online. (http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/index/BackIssues2000.aspx) Wander the region at your leisure with this publication which truly lets students see both the regional past and present in print or online in all its visual glory.

Biographical Note: Wendy Eagan teaches world history at Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda, Maryland.