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Jordan E. Toone

Biography

Jordan Toone spent the 2004-05 academic year in Cairo, Egypt, where he studied at the Center for Arabic Studies Abroad at the American University in Cairo. Not only did Jordon add to his linguistic skills while there, but also to his family: during that time, his first child was born. Jordan now also speaks Egyptian, Palestinian, and Sudanese colloquial Arabic, and has additional training in modern and biblical Hebrew.

Jordan grew up in rural Canada as the oldest boy in a family of ten. It was an experience that taught him the meaning of hard work. "I was not only responsible for the animals," he remembers, "but was also given many additional 'opportunities' around the house and the barn."

At Oxford, Jordan will pursue a master of philosophy in modern Middle Eastern studies, during which he plans to research the "evolution of the Palestinian national identity prior to 1947 using primary materials from the Islamic Court archives in Jaffa and Jerusalem." He then plans to pursue a law degree. His goal is a career as a United Nations diplomat or legal adviser, where he desires to play a "significant role in fostering diplomatic relations with the Arab world." He would like to orchestrate grassroots initiatives within the US to broaden American awareness of the Arab world, including the addition of an introductory Middle Eastern curriculum in American high schools.

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