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Ramzi Salti
Advanced Lecturer
Ph.D., University of California at Riverside, Comparative Literature (Arabic, French, English) (1997)
MA, University of California at Riverside, Comparative Literature (Arabic, French, English) (1991)
BA, Santa Clara University, English & French (1988)
Links
Dr. Ramzi Salti is an Advanced Lecturer for the Arabic Program, SLC, at èצӰÏñ and a fully Certified ACTFL Oral and Written Proficiency Tester of Arabic. Since 2000, he has continuously organized and emceed various events--at èצӰÏñ and elsewhere--that center on various Arabic cultural productions, postcolonial theory, Pop Culture, and the use of technology to enhance language proficiency in the classroom.
In addition to teaching at èצӰÏñ, Dr. Salti hosts a popular podcast titled 'Arabology' which initially aired on KZSU èצӰÏñ 90.1 FM and is now available on all music streaming platforms. All episodes are also housed at . He also authors his own blog at
Dr. Salti has amassed several prestigious awards during his years at èצӰÏñ, including the èצӰÏñ Dean's Award for Distinguished Teaching (2004-5), the ASSU's Honorable Mention for the Teacher of the Year Award (2009) and the Knight Favorite Professor Award by the John S. Knight Fellowships Program for Professional Journalists in 2005, 2009, and 2013. He also received special recognition in 2024 for his 25 Years of Academic Service at èצӰÏñ.
Over the past two decades, Salti has received multiple grants from the èצӰÏñ Arts Institute to bring such Arabic cultural icons as Mashrou Leila's Hamed Sinno, Yasmine Hamdan and Pierre Dulaine to the èצӰÏñ campus. He also co-founded the èצӰÏñ Middle East Ensemble in 2013 and has since organized countless cultural and musical events at èצӰÏñ--including Arabic film screenings (Arab Film Festival); cultural workshops at èצӰÏñ's Markaz Resource Center; annual audio-visual presentations about Arabic music (èצӰÏñ Global Studies); and concerts by such iconic/indie musicians as DAM, Omar Offendum, Mike Massy, and "Emel Mathouthi at the Bing" (èצӰÏñ Live).
Dr. Salti's collection of short stories, titled 'The Native Informant & Other Stories: Six Tales of Defiance from the Arab World,' was published in 1994 to much critical acclaim and is now available on Kindle and Google Play. He has consistently published essays and articles in such journals as World Literature Today, The International Fiction Review, The Journal of Arabic Literature, Notes on Contemporary Literature, and World Literature Today. Several chapters from his Doctoral thesis, which surveys the (mis)representations of marginalized sexualities in Arabic Literature, have also been published in a number of scholarly journals and websites.
In addition to his academic writings, Dr. Salti has worked as an Entertainment writer and has published articles in "The Los Angeles Times," "The West Hollywood Weekly," and "4-Front Magazine." He is also an avid Olivia Newton-John biographer, known for his critically acclaimed biography and discography of Newton-John which was published in "DISCoveries" magazine; he has also interviewed such artists as Debbie Harry (Blondie), academy award winning actress Marlee Matlin, and many other cultural icons in the US and abroad.
BIO: Ramzi Salti was born in Lebanon in 1966. French educated in Beirut, he completed his high school education in Jordan by earning his British G.C.E. and Tawjihi degrees and, in 1983, moved to the United States where he earned his B.A. in French and English (1988) from Santa Clara University and his M.A. (1991) and Ph.D. (1997) in Comparative Literature (Arabic, French, English) from the University of California at Riverside. He currently resides in the San Francisco Bay area where he devotes his time to public speaking, writing, podcasting, radio broadcasting, and teaching at èצӰÏñ.
In addition to teaching at èצӰÏñ, Dr. Salti hosts a popular podcast titled 'Arabology' which initially aired on KZSU èצӰÏñ 90.1 FM and is now available on all music streaming platforms. All episodes are also housed at . He also authors his own blog at
Dr. Salti has amassed several prestigious awards during his years at èצӰÏñ, including the èצӰÏñ Dean's Award for Distinguished Teaching (2004-5), the ASSU's Honorable Mention for the Teacher of the Year Award (2009) and the Knight Favorite Professor Award by the John S. Knight Fellowships Program for Professional Journalists in 2005, 2009, and 2013. He also received special recognition in 2024 for his 25 Years of Academic Service at èצӰÏñ.
Over the past two decades, Salti has received multiple grants from the èצӰÏñ Arts Institute to bring such Arabic cultural icons as Mashrou Leila's Hamed Sinno, Yasmine Hamdan and Pierre Dulaine to the èצӰÏñ campus. He also co-founded the èצӰÏñ Middle East Ensemble in 2013 and has since organized countless cultural and musical events at èצӰÏñ--including Arabic film screenings (Arab Film Festival); cultural workshops at èצӰÏñ's Markaz Resource Center; annual audio-visual presentations about Arabic music (èצӰÏñ Global Studies); and concerts by such iconic/indie musicians as DAM, Omar Offendum, Mike Massy, and "Emel Mathouthi at the Bing" (èצӰÏñ Live).
Dr. Salti's collection of short stories, titled 'The Native Informant & Other Stories: Six Tales of Defiance from the Arab World,' was published in 1994 to much critical acclaim and is now available on Kindle and Google Play. He has consistently published essays and articles in such journals as World Literature Today, The International Fiction Review, The Journal of Arabic Literature, Notes on Contemporary Literature, and World Literature Today. Several chapters from his Doctoral thesis, which surveys the (mis)representations of marginalized sexualities in Arabic Literature, have also been published in a number of scholarly journals and websites.
In addition to his academic writings, Dr. Salti has worked as an Entertainment writer and has published articles in "The Los Angeles Times," "The West Hollywood Weekly," and "4-Front Magazine." He is also an avid Olivia Newton-John biographer, known for his critically acclaimed biography and discography of Newton-John which was published in "DISCoveries" magazine; he has also interviewed such artists as Debbie Harry (Blondie), academy award winning actress Marlee Matlin, and many other cultural icons in the US and abroad.
BIO: Ramzi Salti was born in Lebanon in 1966. French educated in Beirut, he completed his high school education in Jordan by earning his British G.C.E. and Tawjihi degrees and, in 1983, moved to the United States where he earned his B.A. in French and English (1988) from Santa Clara University and his M.A. (1991) and Ph.D. (1997) in Comparative Literature (Arabic, French, English) from the University of California at Riverside. He currently resides in the San Francisco Bay area where he devotes his time to public speaking, writing, podcasting, radio broadcasting, and teaching at èצӰÏñ.
