Santa Clara University

Fayeq Oweis, Ph.D.

Department: Modern Languages
Title: Lecturer

Office: Kenna 215
Phone: 408-554-4128



Email: foweis@scu.edu
Homepage

Fayeq S. Oweis, Lecturer of Arabic in the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures at Santa Clara University, received his Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Studies with concentration on Arabic and Islamic Studies focusing on Creative & Visual Arts from Union Institute and University in 2001.  He has been teaching Arabic language and culture at Santa Clara University since 2005, and has taught at San Francisco State University for four years. Oweis has published Pocket Guide to Arabic Script and has written a number of articles and gave numerous presentations on the Arabic language & culture, Arab American Artists, Arabic Calligraphy, and Islamic art.  He is also an Artist specializing in Arabic Calligraphic Compositions and had exhibited his work throughout the United States. Oweis co-designed and directed the first Arabic/Islamic cultural mural in San Francisco, and designed the exterior entranceway murals and the calligraphy of the dome at the Arab American National Museum in Dearborn, Michigan. In addition to his academic and artistic work, Oweis also works as an Arabic localization consultant for some Internet companies in the Silicon Valley.

Oweis is a community activist and a board member of ZAWAYA, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting Arabic art and culture. He is currently working on a book project that will feature and highlight the lives and artworks of about 100 Arab American visual artists.

• Modern Standard Arabic (Introductory, Intermediate, Advanced)
• Arabic Calligraphy
• Arabic Culture & Identity
• Colloquial/ Spoken Arabic

• Arabic Language and Culture
• Arabic Calligraphy, Arabic/Islamic Arts and Visual Culture
• Arab American Community: History, Identity, Arts, Religion, and Culture

• Encyclopedia of Arab American Artists (Series: Artists of the American Mosaic), (Greenwood Press, 2007). A reference book featuring 100 Arab American Visual Artists from 1900 to present.
• Nahda Salah Balaa: Opening Doors for Arab Art.   Al-Jadid, A Review & Record of Arab Culture and Arts Vol. 11 No. 53. Los Angeles, California. 2006.
• Pocket Guide to Arabic Script. New York, NY: Hippocrene Books, Inc., 2005. ISBN: 0-7818-1104-X
• The Multicultural Roots of Andrea Ali's Art. Al-Jadid, A Review & Record of Arab Culture and Arts Vol. 11 No. 52. Los Angeles, California. Summer 2005.
• Adnan Charara's Art Inspired by Styles, Symbols of Identity. Al-Jadid, A Review & Record of Arab Culture and Arts Vol. 11 No. 52. Los Angeles, California. Summer 2005.
• Arab Cultural Mural, the Oasis Comes to San Francisco. Al-Jadid, A Review & Record of Arab Culture and Arts, 10 (46/47). Los Angeles, California: Al-Jadid,  pp 48-53, 2002.
• The Elements of Unity in Islamic Art. Parkland, Fl.: Brown Walker Press, 2002.
• Islamic Art as an Educational Tool about the Teaching of Islam. Art Education Journal, 55 (2).   Reston, Virginia: National Art Education Association, pp 18-24, 2002.

• Fayeq Oweis received a community award from Cesar Chavez Student Center Association at San Francisco State University (November 2007) for his role as a lead artist in the mural honoring Palestinian American Scholar Edward Said. Mural can be seen at http://www.oweis.com/said.html