CV – Come From Away

(photo by M. A. Al Awaid)

Dr. Marielle Risse

Professional Experience

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Sloan School of Management – Coordinator – Career Development Office, Sept. 2024 – present (through ProPivotal)
Office of the Dean, School of Engineering – 2003-2005, Writing and editing correspondence, independent research in support of stewardship and donor relations
Sloan School of Management – 2000-2003

University Experience

Founder and Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning, Dhofar University, 2010 – 2012

Associate Professor, Department of English, Dhofar University, Sept. 2005 – June 2024

Created and taught a variety of classes including:

Education/ Culture

English 265 – Culture in the Classroom
Education 530 – Cross‐Cultural Communication, Masters in Education program
Education 690 – Supervising Masters Thesis, Masters in Education program
Intensive summer class, Masters in Education program

English/ Literature

English 255 – Psychology of Language
English 360 – Writing for the Professions
English 419 – Language and Politics
English 440 – Special Topics in Literature/ Literary Criticism

Assistant Professor, American University of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, 1997‑1999 (university opened in 1997) Assisted in writing department curriculum; ordered literature collection for university library; faculty sponsor for student newspaper and literary magazine; created and taught writing, research and literature classes

Visiting Professor, University of Sharjah, Women’s College, United Arab Emirates, 1997

Additional Teaching Experience

Volunteer Instructor, American Red Cross; teaching English as a Second Language, Citizenship and American History; Boston, Massachusetts Bay Chapter; part time 2003-2005

Instructor, Community College of Vermont; Montpelier, Vermont, 1999

Education

Ph.D. University of North Dakota – English Literature, minor in Education, Dissertation: Abroad Again: Explorations within the Genre of Travel Writing, Advisor: Dr. Michael Beard

M.Ed. University of Maryland, College Park – Foreign Language and Social Studies Education

B.A. University of Wisconsin, Madison – Political Science and German Literature

Foreign Language Experience and Education

Arabic classes – 2014-2020, 1998-1999
Diplôme d’Etudes en Langue Française (DELF) A2 – 2008
Frederick Institute; Nicosia, Cyprus ‑ 1995, independent research for dissertation
Friedrich Wilhelms Universität; Bonn, Germany – 1985‑1986, full time student

Publications – books

Researching and Working on the Arabian Peninsula: Creating Effective Interactions. Palgrave Macmillan, 2025

This book outlines strategies for current or soon-to-be business professionals, government employees, anthropologists, researchers and teachers to communicate, study and work effectively on the Arabian Peninsula. Using first-person accounts, as well as scholarly research from the fields of anthropology, history, literature, political science and travel writing, this text gives clear advice so long- and short-term visitors can create successful interactions with people from Arabian Peninsula societies. By discussing how the practicalities of work and research intersect with cultural norms, this book fills the gap between guides aimed at the casual tourists and academic texts on narrowly defined topics.

Houseways in Southern Oman. Routledge, 2023

This book explains how modern, middle-class houses are sited, designed, built, decorated and lived in with an emphasis on how room-usage is determined by age, gender, time of day and the presence of guests. Dhofari houses are also compared to houses in other Arabian Peninsula countries and positioned within the theoretical frameworks of the “Islamic city” and the “Islamic house.”

Foodways in Southern Oman. Routledge, 2021

This book examines the objects, practices and beliefs relating to producing, obtaining, cooking, eating and disposing of food in the Dhofar region of southern Oman. Foodways connects what is consumed to themes such as land usage, gender, age, purity, privacy and generosity. It also discusses how foodways are related to issues of morality, safety, religion, and tourism.

Community and Autonomy in Southern Oman. Palgrave Macmillan, 2019

This book explores how, in cultures which prize conformity, people are constantly shifting between preserving autonomy and signaling membership in family, tribal and national communities. The main focus is on how the traits of self-control and self-respect are manifested in the everyday actions of several groups of tribes whose first language is Gibali (Jebbali/ Jebali, also referred to as Shari/ Shahri), a non-written, Modern South Arabian language.

Professional Service

Grant reviewer for Royal Geographical Society, 2024
Outside reviewer for the Research Council of Oman, 2014-present
External Reviewer for Institutions of Higher Education, Oman Academic Accreditation Authority, 2011-2018
Member, Board of Governors, British School of Salalah, Oman, 2017-2018
Liaison between Dhofar University and the Research Council of Oman, 2009-2012

Dhofar University – university committees and service

University Promotion Committee – member, 2014-2017
Academic Support Services Planning and Management Committee – member, 2014-2016
University Budget Advisory Committee – member, 2010-2012
University Policy Review Committee – member, 2010-2012
Quality Assurance Board – chair, 2010-2012
Created and expanded materials for new faculty at DU (including up-dating the New Faculty Handbook), creating an Academic Honesty Guide and a Guide to Omani Culture in the Classroom, 2009-2012
University Research Board – member, 2005-2012
University Council – member, 2007

Dhofar University – College of Arts and Applied Science committees

College of Arts and Applied Sciences Promotion Committee – member, 2021-2024
College of Arts and Applied Sciences Student Affairs Committee – member, 2016-2021
College of Arts and Applied Sciences Advisory Board – member, 2015-2018
College of Arts and Applied Sciences Hiring Committee – member, 2017-2018
College of Arts and Applied Sciences Council – member, 2016-2018
College of Arts and Applied Sciences Research Committee – member, 2009-2012

Dhofar University – College of Arts and Applied Sciences service

Mentored new faculty: 2021, 2018 (2), 2017, 2013-2015
Mentored students for various student-led programs including Book Friends (Fall 2018 and Spring 2019), ASK (Always Seek Knowledge) Program (Fall 2017 and Spring 2018), Shakespeare Day (May 2, 2018), Primrose Day (May 9, 2017), Venus Day (Dec. 20, 2016)
Organized Recitation Days for students to present their own writing: April 9, 2018; May 1, 2017; May 10, 2016; April 15, 2015 and supervised printed collections of students’ writing including Windows of Opportunity, June 2017 and Souvenirs, January 2015
Classroom enrichment: Brought students from the British School Salalah to Dhofar University for a Creativity Workshop with Engl 320 (Introduction to Creative Writing) students, Fall 2019; Invited local poets and writers to speak to students in Engl 290 (Poetry) and Engl 320 (Introduction to Creative Writing) Spring 2019, Fall 2018, Spring 2018, Fall 2017, Spring 2017 including Mohammed (Qaritas) Al Mehri (published poet), Mohammed Jadad (published author), and Nasser Sami (published author and editor)

Dhofar University – Department of English Language and Literature service

Academic Research Committee – chair, 2019-2020
Administrative Committee – member, 2022-2024
Program Review Committee- member, 2022-2024

Outside Reader

Publications of the Modern Language Association
Arabian Humanities,https://journals.openedition.org/cy/2009
Ariel: A Review of International English Literature (University of Calgary and Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada)
Journeys: The International Journal of Travel and Travel Writing (Berghahn Journals)

Publications – scholarly articles and chapters – anthropology/ culture/ travel writing

“Lifeways of Traditional Fishermen in Dhofar, Oman,” in Fish as Food: Lifestyle and a Sustainable Future. Helen Macbeth, ed. International Commission on the Anthropology of Food and Nutrition – Alimenta Populorum series. 2024: 155-170. https://archive.org/details/macbeth-young-and-roberts-ed-fish-as-food-anthropological-and-cross-disciplinary

“An Ethnographic Discussion of Fairy Tales from Southern Oman,” Fabula: Zeitschrift für Erzählforschung / Journal of Folktale Studies / Revue d’Etudes sur le Conte Populaire 60.3-4 (De Gruyter, Berlin) 2019: 318–335.

“Understanding Communication in Southern Oman,” North Dakota Quarterly 84.1 (Special Issue on Transnationalism) 2017: 174-184.

“Generosity, Gift-giving and Gift-avoiding in Southern Oman,” Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies 45 (Oxford: Archeopress) 2015: 289-296.

“Understanding the Impact of Culture on the TESOL Classroom: An Outsider’s Perspective,” TESOL Arabia’s Perspective 18.2, 2011: 15-19.

“Cultural Refraction: Using Travel Writing, Anthropology and Fiction to Understand the Culture of Southern Arabia,” Interdisciplinary Humanities 26:1, 2009: 63-78.

Publications – scholarly articles and chapters – literature/ pedagogy

“Using Cultural Understandings to Improve Teaching in Oman,” in Unpackaging Theory and Practice in Educational Sciences. Abdülkadir Kabadayı, ed. Lyon: Livre de Lyon. 2023: 129-141. https://www.livredelyon.com/educational-sciences/unpackaging-theory-practice-in-educational-sciences_595.

“Teaching Paired Middle Eastern and Western Literary Texts,” in Advancing English Language Education. Wafa Zoghbor and Thomaï Alexiou, eds. Dubai: Zayed University Press, 2020: 221-223.

“Teaching Literature on the Arabian Peninsula,” Anthropology News website, October 7 2019. http://www.anthropology-news.org/index.php/2019/10/07/teaching-literature-on-the-arabian-peninsula/

“Selecting the Right Literary Texts for Middle Eastern Students: Challenges and Reactions,” in Focusing on EFL Reading: Theory and Practice. Rahma Al-Mahrooqi, ed. Muscat: Sultan Qaboos University Press, 2014: 165-188.

“Frosty Cliffs, Frosty Aunt and Sandy Beaches: Teaching Aurora Leigh in Oman,” Ariel: A Review of International English Literature 43.4, 2013: 123-145.

“Who Are You Calling ‘Coddled’?: ‘Cloistered Virtue’ and Choosing Literary Texts in a Middle Eastern University,” Pedagogy 13.3, 2013: 415-427.

“Do You know a Creon?: Making Literature Relevant in an Omani University,” in Literature Teaching in EFL/ESL: New Perspectives. Rahma Al-Mahrooqi, ed. Muscat: Sultan Qaboos University Press, 2012: 302-314.

“Reader’s Guide” for the English version of Khadija bint Alawi al-Thahab’s My Grandmother’s Stories: Folk Tales from Dhofar (Translated by W. Scott Chahanovich, U.S. Fulbright Scholar at Dhofar University, 2009-2010). Washington, D.C: Sultan Qaboos Cultural Center, 2012: 17-23.

Conference Presentations – anthropology/ culture/ travel writing

“Conducting Research on the Arabian Peninsula: Creating Effective Interactions,” Middle East Studies Association Annual Conference. Nov. 14, 2024.

“Windguru and Other Gurus: Fishing off the Coast of Dhofar, Oman,” Navigating the Transcultural Indian Ocean: Texts and Practices in Contact Conference, sponsored by the Rutter Project. Upcoming, June 5, 2024

“Crafting a Home: Interior Home Design in Southern Oman.” Home/Making Symposium, Concordia University. Montreal. May 12, 2023. https://www.concordia.ca/finearts/events/home-making.html

“Good Governance and Open Spaces: How the State and Residents Negotiate the Use of Government Land in Dhofar, Oman.” AnthroState Talks for the European Association of Social Anthropologists Network on Anthropologies of the State. May 4, 2023. https://easaonline.org/networks/anthrostate/talks

“Explorations in the North-west Indian Ocean: The Research Journeys of the ‘Palinurus’ along the Omani Coast in the mid-1800s.” Research Expeditions to India and the Indian Ocean in Early Modern and Modern Times, sponsored by the German Maritime Museum / Leibniz Institute for Maritime History. Nov. 3, 2022.

“Private Lives in Public Spaces: Perceptions of Space-Usage in Southern Oman.” Middle East Studies Association annual conference. Montreal, Quebec. December 2, 2021.

“The Costs and Benefits of Fishing in Southern Oman.” Fish as Food: Lifestyle and a Sustainable Future, annual conference of the International Commission on the Anthropology of Food and Nutrition, hosted at the University of Liverpool. Sept. 1, 2021.

“Ethical Eating in Southern Oman.” Just Food, virtual conference of the Association for the Study of Food and Society; Agriculture, Food and Human Values Society; Canadian Association for Food Studies and the Society for the Anthropology of Food and Nutrition, hosted by the Culinary Institute of America and New York University. June 12, 2021.

“Foodways in Southern Oman,” for the session “Uncovering Truths, Building Responsibility in A Pandemic: Insights from Emerging Monographs at the Nexus of Culture, Food, and Agriculture.” American Anthropological Association. Nov. 9, 2020.

with Keye Tersmette. “Ghurba at Home – Views from Oman.” The Arab World as Ghurba: Citizenship, Identity and Belonging in Literature and Popular Culture, University of Warwick. June 21, 2019.

“Accounts from the Journeys of the Brig ‘Palinurus’ Along the Dhofar Coast in the mid-1800s.” Maritime Exploration and Memory Conference, National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, England. Sept. 15, 2018.

“Recent Views on Oman.” British Society for Middle East Studies, University of Edinburgh. July 6, 2017.

“Female, Femininity, Male and Masculinity in the Gibali-speaking Tribes of Southern Oman.” The Gulf Research Conference, Cambridge University. August 2, 2017.

“‘Words Mean Nothing’: Fluency in Language and Fluency in Culture in Anthropology Fieldwork in Southern Oman.” British Society for Middle Eastern Studies, University of Wales. July 15, 2016.

“’Why Would I Hurt a Woman?’: Respectful/ Respecting Women in Southern Oman.” Middle East Studies Association Conference, Denver. Nov. 21, 2015.

“Generosity, Gift-giving and Gift-avoiding in Southern Oman.” British Foundation for the Study of Arabia’s Seminar for Arabian Studies, The British Museum, London. July 27, 2014.

“‘I Do Not Need the Night’: The Gibali Conception of Self-Respect in Southern Oman.” Middle East Studies Association Conference, New Orleans. October 12, 2013.

“They Came, They Saw, They Fought, They Compromised, They Left: The Foreign Military Presence in the Dhofar War (Oman, 1965-1975).” Royal Geographical Society Annual Conference; Edinburgh. July 3, 2012.

“Waiting for [both] the Barbarians”: Tourism in the Dhofar Region of Oman.” Traditions and Transformations: Tourism, Heritage and Cultural Change in the Middle East and North Africa Region; Amman, Jordan. April 6, 2009.

Conference presentations – literature/ pedagogy

“Finding the Right Texts for Teaching Literature, Cultures, and Empathy in the Middle East.” American Comparative Literature Association Conference. April 9, 2021.

“‘I Came to You for Good’: An Ethnographic Discussion of Folk Tales from Southern Oman.” Third Joint Seminar of The Folklore Society and the Royal Anthropological Institute, Royal Anthropological Institute, London. Oct. 26, 2017.

“Antigone, Alcestis, Deanira and Philoketes visit the Empty Quarter: The Reception of Greek Drama on the Arabian Peninsula.” American Comparative Literature Association Conference, University of Utrecht. July 8, 2017.

“‘A Man Was Always Catching Fish’: Fairy Tale Elements in the Ali al-Mahri/ Johnstone/ Rubin Gibali Texts from Southern Oman.” American Comparative Literature Association Conference, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. March 18, 2016.

“Analyzing Arabic Teaching to Improve English Teaching.” TESOL Arabia Annual Conference; Dubai. March 14, 2014.

“John Clare Looks Good in a Dishdash: Linking John Clare to Middle Eastern Poetry.” Modern Language Association Annual Conference, Chicago. January 7, 2011.

“How Can You Hate the Sun?: Translating Western Conceptions of Nature.” Humanities Education and Research Association, Chicago, Illinois. April 9, 2009.

“Do You Have Anything on Cowboys?: Creating a University Library in the Middle East,” with Chris Sugnet. Southwest/Texas Popular Culture Association Conference, Albuquerque. Feb., 2000.

Invited Presentations in Dhofar, Oman

“Creating Effective Research Projects with Students,” University of Technology and Applied Science-Salalah. Dec. 20, 2022

“Using Cultural Insights to Enhance Productive Learning – How Teachers Can Work Effectively with Students,” International College of Engineering and Management, Muscat. March 25, 2021.

“Overlapping and Conflicting Types of Knowledge in Anthropological Research in Southern Arabia,” a presentation for New York University-Abu Dhabi students, invited by Professor Steve Caton (Harvard University) and Professor Donald Scott. January 14, 2018.

“Guidelines for Ethical Research,” Workshop for Medical Employees at the Director General of Health Services. March 25, 2018.

“Understanding Culture to Improve Teaching,” Center for Teaching and Learning Lecture Series. Nov. 13, 2017.

“Effective Thesis Writing,” Workshop for Computer Science graduate students, Dhofar University. Nov. 6, 2017.

“Understanding the Impact of Culture in Classrooms,” New Faculty Orientation, Dhofar University. Feb. 28, 2017.

“Intercultural Communication,” Dhofar University Workplace English program. April 7 and April 20, 2016.

Cultural introduction to Dhofar for visiting scholars including: Students from the Center for International Learning, Muscat, Fall 2013; Students in the Critical Language (Arabic) Scholarship Program, June 2012; Miriam Hanle, German exchange student at Dhofar University, and Nick Taggert, USA State Department Fellow, 2012; Students from the Omani-Anglo Society Arabic Language Program, June 2011; Students from the World Learning Arabic Language Program, June 2008 and 2009.

Research in Partnership with Dhofar University Students

“Culinary Photographs,” photographs by Salma Hubais as part of the Foodways in Southern Oman project, 2019-2020.

“مناقشة إثنوغرافية للحكايات الشعبية من جنوب عمان” [An Ethnographic Discussion of Folk Tales from Southern Oman] Al Sha’ar (Alaan Publishers, Amman) 2019: 192-210. Translated by Weam al Jilani.

with Miriam Al Sabbah. “Don’t Be Afraid of the Novel: Austen for ESL Students,” Proceedings of the 16th Oman International ELT Conference. Muscat: Sultan Qaboos University Press, 2017: 28-35.

with Miriam Al Sabbah. “Don’t Be Afraid of the Novel: Austen for ESL Students.” 16^th International ELT Conference, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman. April 22, 2016.

Creative Non-fiction

“Yemen with Yul,” in Emanations 11. Independently published, 2024: 417-429.

“Questions About Food and Ethics,” in Emanations: When a Planet was a Planet. Brookline, MA: International Authors, 2021: 403-408

“Ok Kilito, I Won’t Speak Your Language: Reflections after Reading Thou Shalt Not Speak My Language,” in Octo-Emanations. Carter Kaplan, ed. Brookline, MA: International Authors, 2020: 233-236.

“Predator Anthropologists, Anthropologist Predators: Anthropological Metaphors in Popular Movies,” Open Anthropology Research Repository. Aug. 25, 2020. https://www.openanthroresearch.org/doi/abs/10.1002/oarr.10000333.1

“What’s in Your Bag?” Anthropology News. American Anthropological Association. Oct. 30, 2019. http://www.anthropology-news.org/index.php/2019/07/23/whats-in-your-bag-2019-edition/

“Living Expat,” in Emanations: Chorus Pleiades. Carter Kaplan, ed. Brookline, MA: International Authors, 2018: 308-318.

“Research in Foreign Cultures,” in Emanations: Foray into Forever. Carter Kaplan, ed. Brookline, MA: International Authors, 2014: 355-358.

“Throwing Children in the Street: Explaining Western Culture to Omanis,” in Emanations: Third Eye. Carter Kaplan, ed. Brookline, MA: International Authors, 2013: 265-274.

“To Learn Arabic, You Have to Talk the Talk,” The Chronicle of Higher Education. May 31, 2012. http://chronicle.com/article/To-Learn-Arabic-You-Have-to/132057

“Bringing Theory Home in Oman,” The Chronicle of Higher Education. July 10, 2011: B24. http://chronicle.com/article/Bringing-Theory-Home-in-Oman/128139/

“In the House of the Infidel or Perfume: The Great Healer,” Button 16, 2011: 6-9.

“For Middle East expats, a fake-holly, not-so-jolly Christmas,” The Washington Post, Dec. 23, 2009: C3.

“An Open Letter to Alice Walker,” The Chronicle of Higher Education. Feb. 20, 2009: B11. http://chronicle.texterity.com/chronicle/20090220b/?pg=11#pg11

Affiliations

Fellow: