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Last Updated: Oct 16th, 2008 - 13:33:17 |
The baseball game was long and complicated to the young man who first laid eyes on the sport more than 30 years ago. And listening to someone explain with fevered excitement, "He pitched five innings and allowed three runs -- two earned -- and seven hits with no walks and three strikeouts!" meant nothing. It seemed as difficult as learning a foreign language -- and Dr. Robert Hazan knows five.
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Photo by LINH NGO/lngo@mscd.edu
Robert Hazan, seated second from left, as a fourth grade student in 1962. He attended the Nisantasi Sisli Terakki Lisesi school where he grew up in Instabul, Turkey.
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Hazan, chair of Metro's department of political science, is from Istanbul, Turkey. And for him, sports are all about the Turkish football teams Fenerbahce and Bursaspor. Forget about grabbing a hot dog at the stadium. More likely you'll find doener kebab (lamb, beef, veal, or chicken cooked on a vertical skewer) over there.
The attraction of America was like a magnet, according to Hazan. "That great magnet has never lost its energy or its power."
Nevertheless, the difficulty of learning the norms and traditions of a culture can be trying. What is acceptable? What isn't? How can one assimilate without sacrificing ones true self?
Once Hazan arrived in America he decided if he were to fit in, he'd have to learn a few things. "I made it a challenge to expose myself to as many of the dynamics so I could really have a broader understanding of American culture and enjoy it," he said.
He suggests that students from abroad arriving here to study should work hard and be patient. "Learning and understanding the American culture requires study, travel and conversation," he said. "Socializing with Americans helps tremendously. American tastes and appreciations are very important."
Hazan was raised by a single mother in Istanbul and was educated in France and the United States. His research and teaching concentrate on political theory, political economy, international affairs and the politics of the Middle East.
As for cultural diversity on campus, he said,"Metro is making great strides but still has a way to go. It will grow through the dedication of the people there. People in the Native American Studies, the Chicano Studies, African-American Studies and Women Studies. Hopefully, we'll see an Asian-American Studies soon."
Hazan's B.A. is from the University of Grenoble, France, his M.A. was earned at Illinois State University, and his Ph.D. is from the Graduate School of International Studies at the University of Denver. Things have worked out for him, he said. In the coming months he will be at U.C. Berkeley's The Center for Middle Eastern Studies, promoting educational research and teaching projects in pursuit of cosmopolitan politics.
And the success has stuck. "Identity has never been an issue for me. I'm just Robert Hazan," he said.
After more than 30 years in America, Hazan still isn't a fan of baseball,
"But I am a fan of the Nuggets and Broncos!" he explained.
And as for hot dogs?
"Somehow I did not like very much the taste of hot dogs. I'd much rather have Bursa kebabi," he says with a laugh.
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