Emeritus Professor of English and Interdisciplinary Studies, City College of San Francisco, California, USA.
About
Now an Emeritus Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies, English, and world literature at City College of San Francisco, Abdul Jabbar has taught for 36 years on a full-time basis at City College, including visiting professorship at University of California, Berkeley. Recipient of a Fulbright scholarship and two National Endowment for the Humanities awards, he received his Ph.D in English from Case Western University, Cleveland, Ohio, and completed graduate-level course work in political science, history, and comparative religions.
Teaching
The courses that he has taught range from freshman reading and writing to advanced electives, such as Survey of English Literature courses and Great Books of Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries. As Chair of the Department of Interdisciplinary Studies for 6 years, he designed/developed and taught several courses, such as American Cultures in Literature and Film, Asian Humanities (focusing on cultures of India, China, Japan, and West Asia), Shakespeare for All Time, Introduction to Islam, Current Issues and Topics in Pakistan and India, and similar courses.
Publications
Jabbar's book "Reading and Writing with Multicultural Literature: In Search of Reconciliation and Peace" (4th edition). His new book, "Not of an Age, but for All Time: Revolutionary Humanism in Iqbal, Manto, and Faiz" was published in October 2021 by Peter Lang International Publisher. His next book, "The Promise, Reality, and Potential of America's Cultural Diversity: Evidence from History, Literature and Film," will be published in 2023 by Peter Lang International Publisher. He has published many articles on literary, political, and similar topics.
Reading and Writing with Multicultural Literature: In Search of Reconciliation and Peace. Hailed by McGraw Hill reviewers as "the most original and creative literature textbook" and "a brilliant, innovative work" with "the highest level of instructional specificity" literature text, his book Reading and Writing with Multicultural Literature: In Search of Reconciliation and Peace is meant for college students as well as anyone interested in sharpening their interpretation skills and reading masterpieces of world literature. This book includes literary selections from across cultures. Besides major texts of the Western literary canon, it has poems by authors, such as Omar Khayyam, Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib, Muhammad Iqbal, Rabindranath Tagore, Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Waseem Barelvi, Pablo Neruda, Janice Mirikitani, Joseph Bruchac, Langston Hughes, Pat Mora, Li-Po, Nizar Qabbani, Maya Angelou, Jalaluddin Rumi, Mahmoud Darwish, Kevin Young, and many others. For story selections, among major authors included are Saadat Hassan Manto, Khushwant Singh, Kyalo Mativo, Leslie Marmon Silko, Chitra Divakaruni, Sherman Alexie, RabindranathTagore, Alan Kaufman, Betty Shamieh, Lu Hsun, Alifa Rifaat, Amrita Pritam, Julio Ortega, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Ibrahim An-Nasir, Ihsan Abd al-Quddus, Naguib Mahfouz, Ghalib Hamza Abu al-Faraj, and Paradon Sakda. Included, moreover, are most canonical texts, such as stories by William Faulkner, Ernest Hemingway, Albert Camus, Ernest Gaines, Richard Wright, O. Henry, and James Joyce.
Not of an Age, but for All Time: Revolutionary Humanism in Iqbal, Manto, and Faiz. This book was published in October 2021 by Peter Lang International Publisher.
His forthcoming book, The Promise, Reality, and Potential of America's Cultural Diversity: Evidence from History, Literature and Film, will be published in 2023 by Peter Lang International Publisher.
Other Publications
He has published several articles on literary and political topics.
International Lectures
At the invitation of a Tunisian university, he went there to offer a series of seminars in March 2012. He often gives lectures via Skype to overseas universities at their request.
Humanitarian Work
For humanitarian work, he has served as a Board Director of Central Asia Institute for nine years, including three years as Chair. This U.S.-based nonprofit promotes literacy, especially among women, by opening more than 200 schools in the remote and underserved areas of Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan. He is also an advisor to the U.S.-based Kamran Educational Foundation.