Send Seif to Oxford!
Donazione protetta
Hi everyone. My name is Ahmed Seif, and I am from Alexandria, Egypt. I have been accepted to Oxford University to do a one-year master’s degree in medieval (fourteenth-century) literature and history. I am a medievalist, a scholar of the literature and history of the Middle Ages. I came to the US in 2011 as a Fulbright scholar. This past May 2016, I graduated with honors from the University of Mississippi with a graduate degree in English literature.
Although this has been an important step toward my goal, it is not the final one. My future depends on your help. Because of my financial situation, I have not yet been able to accept my place at Oxford.
And I really need your support!
The degree I will be pursuing is interdisciplinary. In addition to the theoretical learning the degree offers, I will deepen my knowledge of paleography (the study of ancient and medieval manuscripts), codicology (the history of how manuscripts were put together), and textual science (the digital imaging and recovery of cultural heritage objects, especially manuscripts).
My research will examine the connection between diplomacy and literature.
What is the relationship between medieval diplomacy and literature? How does diplomacy between East and West in the Middle Ages relate to the current state of affairs? These are the questions I am interested in asking. Looking at medieval literary texts and 14th-century political discourse, I will investigate the embassies and diplomatic relations between the Muslim East and the Christian West from the ninth to the 14th centuries. At Oxford, I hope to examine medieval truces and peace treaties written in Latin, Middle English, Arabic, and other medieval languages.
As an Egyptian, I would like to be the secular scholar who translates a fraught history of conflict and collaboration into a story of mutualism. I see my future role in academia as that of an academic diplomat, as it were, one who can reach out to students, scholars and readers on both sides of the cultural divide. The education I seek is a privilege, and I intend to use it as a means to empower and guide students into a more historically informed understanding of their own and others’ traditions.
Egypt (and, to a lesser extent, also the US) is witnessing a sad decline in liberal arts education. I want to do something about that.
I need your financial help because none of those said goals could be realized without it.
Unfortunately the degree is expensive and I cannot afford it. My father is a retired school teacher, and my mother a social worker. Before resorting to a crowd-funding campaign, I want you to know that I exhausted all traditional scholarships and funding opportunities. The English system is different from the American in that no graduate degrees involve teaching assistantships. In other words, you can’t pay your tuition by teaching. Also, my mother looked into taking out an Egyptian loan, but because her salary is not big enough, the loan she can take would not suffice to cover even a fourth of the tuition and living costs. I also explored the possibility of taking out a loan from a US bank. That did not work because I am neither a citizen nor a permanent resident of the US. I was turned down for an Egyptian funding scholarship primarily because most money in academia seems to go to the Sciences. I have exhausted all options with no success.
The amount that I ask is the minimal sum of money that I need to cover my tuition and the lowest living costs estimated by the university. If I do not raise the money, I cannot go; the university requires that I show proof of financial support. Please help me get that support so that I won’t have to turn the offer down.
I will be extremely grateful for any financial help (however small) you may be willing to offer. I will be equally grateful for simply spreading the word. Thank you!
PS: I would be more than happy to show proof my credentials as well as my letter of acceptance to Oxford University.
Many thanks!
Although this has been an important step toward my goal, it is not the final one. My future depends on your help. Because of my financial situation, I have not yet been able to accept my place at Oxford.
And I really need your support!
The degree I will be pursuing is interdisciplinary. In addition to the theoretical learning the degree offers, I will deepen my knowledge of paleography (the study of ancient and medieval manuscripts), codicology (the history of how manuscripts were put together), and textual science (the digital imaging and recovery of cultural heritage objects, especially manuscripts).
My research will examine the connection between diplomacy and literature.
What is the relationship between medieval diplomacy and literature? How does diplomacy between East and West in the Middle Ages relate to the current state of affairs? These are the questions I am interested in asking. Looking at medieval literary texts and 14th-century political discourse, I will investigate the embassies and diplomatic relations between the Muslim East and the Christian West from the ninth to the 14th centuries. At Oxford, I hope to examine medieval truces and peace treaties written in Latin, Middle English, Arabic, and other medieval languages.
As an Egyptian, I would like to be the secular scholar who translates a fraught history of conflict and collaboration into a story of mutualism. I see my future role in academia as that of an academic diplomat, as it were, one who can reach out to students, scholars and readers on both sides of the cultural divide. The education I seek is a privilege, and I intend to use it as a means to empower and guide students into a more historically informed understanding of their own and others’ traditions.
Egypt (and, to a lesser extent, also the US) is witnessing a sad decline in liberal arts education. I want to do something about that.
I need your financial help because none of those said goals could be realized without it.
Unfortunately the degree is expensive and I cannot afford it. My father is a retired school teacher, and my mother a social worker. Before resorting to a crowd-funding campaign, I want you to know that I exhausted all traditional scholarships and funding opportunities. The English system is different from the American in that no graduate degrees involve teaching assistantships. In other words, you can’t pay your tuition by teaching. Also, my mother looked into taking out an Egyptian loan, but because her salary is not big enough, the loan she can take would not suffice to cover even a fourth of the tuition and living costs. I also explored the possibility of taking out a loan from a US bank. That did not work because I am neither a citizen nor a permanent resident of the US. I was turned down for an Egyptian funding scholarship primarily because most money in academia seems to go to the Sciences. I have exhausted all options with no success.
The amount that I ask is the minimal sum of money that I need to cover my tuition and the lowest living costs estimated by the university. If I do not raise the money, I cannot go; the university requires that I show proof of financial support. Please help me get that support so that I won’t have to turn the offer down.
I will be extremely grateful for any financial help (however small) you may be willing to offer. I will be equally grateful for simply spreading the word. Thank you!
PS: I would be more than happy to show proof my credentials as well as my letter of acceptance to Oxford University.
Many thanks!
Organizzatore
Ahmed Seif
Organizzatore
Oxford, MS
