What does it mean to build a life around ideas rather than results?
For Mara Naaman, it means choosing process over praise. It means writing, teaching, and thinking in a way that avoids shortcuts. And it means being a leader in an area where cultural work is still important.
Naaman is an independent scholar, author and editor based in New York. She is a former professor of comparative literature and Arabic at Williams College. She is also working on a novel.
But her path to this point was not a straight one.
Early Life and Education: From Dance to Arabic Literature
Mara Naaman was born in Oakland, California. She grew up in Michigan with a single mother who painted at night. She is an only child. Her grandparents were Iraqi immigrants. Family gatherings were full of Iraqi cousins, large tables of food and stories.
Art came early.
She pursued serious training as a dancer throughout her high school and college years. She attended the Interlochen Arts Academy, a performing arts boarding school. There she studied dance and won a Young Artists Award for creative writing.
The transition from dance to literature was gradual and not dramatic.
“I don’t like to think in terms of success or results,” says Naaman. “To be invested in the process is to be able to learn for the sake of our own enlightenment.”
At Wesleyan University, she majored in English while continuing to dance. She started learning Arabic. She wrote her thesis on magical realism in Arabic literature and graduated with honors in 1996.
This decision shaped the rest of her career.
She later began a doctoral program in Arabic literature at Columbia University. She lived in Cairo for several years. She traveled through the Middle East to improve her language skills. In her dissertation she dealt with literary representations of downtown Cairo. In 2008 it received high honors.
Today, she is also pursuing an MFA in Creative Writing at the City College of New York.
Academic career: teaching, research and leadership
After completing her doctoral dissertation, Naaman built a strong academic career.
From 2007 to 2014, she was an assistant professor of comparative literature and Arabic at Williams College. She also held positions at Columbia University, Hofstra University and New York University. From 2015 to 2017, she worked as deputy program director at the Modern Language Association in New York.
In 2022, she received the University of Chicago Outstanding Educator Award.
Her research focus is on contemporary Arab and American cultural production. She also examines working-class gender and identity. Her work connects literature with everyday life. It asks how cities, work and identity shape the stories we tell.
“I consider myself a cultural worker,” she says. “What we contribute to this world, how we treat others and human connection are what matter most.”
This way of thinking determines both their science and their teaching.
She does not consider education as a race. She sees it as immersion.
“Thinking beyond a ‘success mentality’ means becoming fully immersed in our lives,” she explains. “It means striving for fulfillment and meaning.”
Fulbright Scholar and Global Experience in Cairo
Naaman’s career includes several important scholarships. From 2006 to 2007 she was a Fulbright IIE scholar in Cairo. She has also received several fellowships from Columbia University, including a President’s Fellowship and a FLAS Fellowship in Arabic.
Her time in Cairo wasn’t just academic. It was a lived experience.
She studied at the Center for Arabic Study Abroad at the American University in Cairo. She walked the streets, which she later wrote about in her dissertation. She observed how literature reflects real neighborhoods and real lives.
This mix of science and lived context defines her work.
It does not separate theory from experience.
“To be who I want to be in the world, I have to be willing to embrace uncertainty,” she says. “To accept that the world is tragic and that I am deeply flawed, but still continue to seek inspiration and try to be a force for good.”
Writing, Process and Life in New York
Today Naaman lives in New York with her husband and two children. She balances teaching, writing and family life.
Their routines are simple.
“Write lists, look at my calendar, keep screen time to a minimum,” she says.
She runs. She practices yoga. She cooks when time permits. She reads a lot. She is a member of the Association of Writers and Poets.
When asked what keeps her going, she points to her mother.
“I remember how much my mother had to fight to survive her whole life,” she says. “I’ll keep reading.”
Her focus now is fiction. She is working on a novel and at the same time continues her academic and editorial work. The transition to creative writing feels like a return, not a turning point. Eventually she started out as a dancer and young writer.
Why Mara Naaman’s work matters today
In a culture driven by metrics and visibility, Naaman offers a different leadership model.
She resists the language of efficiency. It challenges the idea that value equals performance. She encourages students and readers to slow down and think deeply.
“Success-orientation distracts us from what is important,” she says. “The journey is important.”
Her influence extends across classrooms, conferences and cultural institutions. She has trained students in Arabic language and literature. She has designed programs for the Modern Language Association. She continues to publish, teach, and write fiction.
Naaman’s leadership is calm but steady. It is rooted in human connection. It’s based on science. And it is shaped by the conviction that culture is not a luxury. It is important.
In her words: “What we create and how we treat others is what matters most.”
This idea defines her career. And it could define her legacy.
