This academic year, the January term course Sharing Heritage of the Arabian Trade Route will include a new field trip to Zanzibar, Tanzania. Taking its students abroad will connect theory taught in class to real life practice along with potentially building long-lasting relationships between local institutions in Zanzibar and NYU Abu Dhabi.

Taught by Professor Robert Parthesius, the course umbrellas over the disciplines of Arab Crossroads, Visual Arts and Islamic Studies and explores the principle of heritage and how it relates to world culture.

“When people [are asked] what heritage is, they can come up with items and buildings,” Parthesius said. “[After the course], hopefully [the students] will understand that heritage is more intangible than tangible.”

Parthesius elaborated further, using the Taj Mahal as an example.

“Everyone thinks that because of [the Taj Mahal’s] beauty, it should be heritage,” he said. “But what if we have an ugly building or an ugly place where terrible things happened? It’s not about the place, it’s what people think about the place and what the history of such [a] place is.”

Once a coastal trading town built in the 19th century by the Omanis, the Stone Town of Zanzibar is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site that presents another example of the distinction between the tangible and intangible.

“UNESCO [decided that Stone Town] is heritage and we have to preserve it as it is,” Parthesius said. “The problem is that the city has grown over the centuries.  When people live in such a site, if they feel it’s important [or] that they get profit out of it, like tourism, they’re [going to] protect it. But if they just live there and they have no emotional or cultural ties with the site, it’s very difficult for UNESCO and for other people to preserve.”

Before traveling to Zanzibar, Parthesius is planning a thorough preparation of both general theory and topics specific to the destination. The first part of the course will explore the concepts of heritage in the classroom through readings and discussions. Students will talk to four Zanzibar specialists who work in national universities and museums about the history and the challenges concerning the island. These specialists will later act as the connectors and translators for students once they travel to Zanzibar.

The eight-day fieldwork in Zanzibar will allow students to apply what they learned in the classroom. The class will split up into four groups to work on their own Heritage Impact Assessments, an assignment that involves choosing a building or a group of people and exploring its historical significance.

“We’re trying to identify who [makes the heritage] of this place and what their stories are and why this place is worthwhile to keep,” Parthesius said.

In Zanzibar, the students will focus on four aspects: crossroads of cultures, the history of power and trade, seafaring commerce and colonization, and the management of a heritage site. The opportunity for research ensures a fuller comprehension of the site and also gives students with different academic backgrounds access to hands-on work.

The students’ research in Zanzibar will culminate in various films and posters that they will present at the end of the term.

Parthesius hopes to maintain relationships with the locals beyond the trip.

“We hope to not only make connections with locals but also design things that the local community can [use] and build up a network that can last for many years,” Parthesius said.

In the long run, Parthesius expects students to be able to contribute to Zanzibar through research internships and engineering project.

“A national museum in Zanzibar … has problems with registration of their collections,” Parthesius said. “One of [my] students speaks the local language and he’s a computer engineer – it may be excellent for him to have an internship or a research project [there].”

The J-Term course has the potential to develop into a Foundation of Heritage class next year at NYUAD, allowing for more connections with various Zanzibar institutions.

In an open conversation on Nov. 25, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs Charles Grim mentioned there were more than 40 students who listed the course as their first choice for J-Term.

In a Facebook interview, junior Selbi Nuryyeva expressed excitement for the course.

“We went to [the] Tanzanian Embassy recently for visas, and the Tanzanian secretary there just … started telling us how amazing Tanzania [is], particularly Zanzibar,” Nuryyeva said. “Even in the embassy we could feel the warmth of Tanzanians to be honest. So I am quite looking forward for such a unique experience I would not have dared to do by myself without [the] university.”