SO - Sociology
Morocco: Changes and Cultural Identity
The course examines the major social, cultural,
intellectual, and human rights transformations in
Morocco over the last four decades, stressing the
undergoing tensions between the secular liberals
and conservatives (especially Islamists) across
gender, religion, language, and sexual politics
all within a context of democratization. It also
explores changing identities and the complexity of
Moroccan cultural politics. It is based on a
balanced combination of the exploration of major
academic scholarship from a comparative new
academic outlooks and multi-disciplinary
perspectives, along with an insight into the lives
and experiences of Moroccans. Above all, it traces
the blended trajectories and trends in Moroccan
society and culture, stressing the pressuring
challenges to Moroccan national identities posed
by globalization, attempts at democratization,
secularism, conservatism, and fundamentalism.
This course is also designed to understand
male-female dynamics, sexual politics, youth
culture, and ethnicities in literature,
philosophy, anthropology, popular culture,
politics, religion, human rights, and sociology.
This course explores different issues related to migration in the Moroccan context and enable students to develop a critical perspective of contemporary mobility. In order to engage intellectually with the topic, students will first be introduced to the context of migration in Morocco (including the legal framework of Moroccan migration policy) in addition to the main concepts of the course: mobility, transnationalism, identity, integration, and human rights. Based on contemporary research conducted in Morocco and abroad, the second part of the course will initially address Moroccan migration (by focusing on internal and circular migration and on gender issues); subsequently « Westerners' » migration (with a particular focus on lifestyle and family migration); and lastly Sub-Saharan migration (by raising issues related to social perceptions, borders and humans rights). In addition to a conceptual and ethnographical understanding, the course will offer students the possibility to relate to the subjects on a more personal level through practical activities: group discussions, meetings with migrants and activists, documentaries, and a visit to an association that works with immigrants among other activities. Finally, students will have the opportunity to work on, and to present a research project related to migration to/from Morocco.