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Morocco

Multiculturalism and Human Rights

Examine challenges shaping Morocco and the Arab world since the 2011 Arab Spring. Learn about human rights, social movements, and the development of individual liberties in a multicultural context.

At a Glance

Credits

16

Prerequisites

None

Language of Study

Arabic

Courses taught in

English

Dates

Sep 5 – Dec 18

Program Countries

Morocco

Program Base

Rabat

Critical Global Issue of Study

Peace & Justice

Overview

Why study multiculturalism in Morocco?

Morocco is a mix of geographic and human landscapes including the Atlas Mountains, the vast Sahara Desert, traditional Berber villages, and the modern cities of Rabat and Casablanca. Amid modernization and democratization, diverse Arab, Berber, and sub-Saharan African cultures are deeply rooted in age-old traditions emphasizing community and family. Explore the present-day characteristics, challenges, and complexities of multiculturalism and human rights in Morocco. Excursions north and south will examine economic development, gender issues, environmental problems, and the role of civil society.

Highlights

  • Study issues impacting Morocco and the rest of the Arab World following the Arab Spring in 2011
  • Discuss issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion with Moroccan University students and get their perspectives
  • Meet Amazighs, Jews, Arabs, and sub-Saharan Africans to understand Morocco's cultural diversity
  • Explore the sand dunes of the Sahara on a camel trek

Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites; however, students with a background in French will find ample opportunity for French language practice while also learning both Moroccan and Modern Standard Arabic.

program map

Excursions

Travel throughout Morocco is a key component of the program. You will visit the Middle Atlas, the Jbala areas, the Southern Palm Tree Valleys, the Tinfou Dunes, Marrakech,  Agadir, and Tiznit, learning about the culture, people, human rights NGOs, politics and varied geography of the country.

During these excursions, you’ll explore Morocco’s history, indigenous industries, development issues, religion, impact of tourism, civil society, environmental challenges, and cultural diversity while meeting with Amazighs and Arabs. You will have the opportunity to make observations and reflect on what you see through photographic essays, discussions with specialists, and mapping exercises.

Educational excursions will enable you to put your coursework in context and to practice new language skills with visits to markets, cultural sites, and music and theater performances.

Southern Excursion

In the southern towns of Marrakech, Tiznit, and Agadir you’ll visit cooperatives and associations working on the issues of empowerment, sustainable development, and the politics of identity with particular emphasis on Amazigh culture. In Tiznit, you will enjoy a camel ride and gain insights into nomadic culture. Lectures and field study exercises will highlight issues such as human rights, forest conservation, sustainability challenges, nomadic history, and multiculturalism. You will meet locals and learn about their way of life, ride a camel across the sand dunes of Aglou, watch the sunrise over the Sahara Desert, and interact with the Gnawa musicians and the transcendental sounds of their music.

Northern Excursion

In the northern towns of Tangier, Tetouan, and the mystical blue-washed city of Chaouen, you’ll visit NGOs working with migrants, marginalized youth, and dealing with gender issues. You’ll also see the impact of migration and remittances on urbanization and rural development. In addition, you’ll visit the Mediterranean town of M’diq and witness the border between Morocco and the Spanish enclave of Ceuta.

Please note that SIT will make every effort to maintain its programs as described. To respond to emergent situations, however, SIT may have to change or cancel programs.

Academics

Program Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of the program, students will be able to:

  • Articulate the gap between universal rights and grassroots realities in Moroccan context, with attention to issues of power, privilege, and marginalization.
  • Describe the differing approaches, perspectives, and models toward multiculturalism and how they impact the ways in which the politics of identity is played out in the Moroccan context.
  • Identify diverse methodological tools and skills needed to conduct ethical research in Morocco.
  • Synthesize contextual understanding, reflective analysis, theoretical frameworks, and methodological training to inform either the production of an Independent Study Project or an internship-based field project.
  • Articulate theories and histories of marginalization, discrimination, and/or structural inequality, their effects on contemporary events, and their implications for the future.
  • Identify systems and structures of power (historical, organizational, political, global) that create and/or perpetuate oppression, privilege, or marginalization, and describe how these systems present barriers to equity and inclusion.

Read more about Program Learning Outcomes.



Coursework

Access virtual library guide.

The following syllabi are representative of this program. Because courses develop and change over time to take advantage of dynamic learning opportunities, actual course content will vary from term to term.

The syllabi can be useful for students, faculty, and study abroad offices in assessing credit transfer. Read more about credit transfer.

Please expand the sections below to see detailed course information, including course codes, credits, overviews, and syllabi.


Key Topics

  • The interplay between authoritarianism and human rights following the recent uprisings in Morocco and the COVID-19 pandemic
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  • Tensions between secular and religious approaches to individual freedoms
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  • Struggles in areas such as women's rights, ethnicity, individual liberties, and state violence
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  • Key modes of articulation between human rights and multiculturalism in Morocco

Human Rights and Social Movements in a Multicultural Context

Human Rights and Social Movements in a Multicultural Context – syllabus
(AFRS3000 / 3 credits)

This seminar aims to introduce students to the major current debates on the questions of human rights and social movements in the Moroccan hybrid political context. In the aftermath of the February 20, 2011 movement (the Moroccan version of the Arab Spring, since, commonly known as the February 20 Movement), Morocco has witnessed many social protest movements across the country. These movements opened the door for a fundamental rethinking of the prevalent paradigms used to understand Moroccan political social dynamics. Students look at movements in terms of large-scale, dramatic events, while also paying close attention to the social infrastructure and actions of ordinary people that sustain movements on a daily basis. Using a perspective of “human rights practice” the focus is on analyzing how groups and organizations operationalize and view human rights through action rather than simply as legal norms. The seminar engages Moroccan academics, artists, civil society activists, policy makers, and students in debates on the development of a multicultural society in a political hybrid regime.

Arabic

Beginning Modern Standard Arabic – syllabus
(ARAB1006-1506 / 6 credits)

Intermediate Modern Standard Arabic – syllabus
(ARAB2006-2506 / 6 credits)

Advanced Modern Standard Arabic – syllabus
(ARAB3006-3506 / 6 credits)

Emphasis on speaking, reading, and writing skills in Modern Standard Arabic through classroom and field instruction. Based on in-country evaluation, students are placed in intensive beginning or intermediate classes, with further language practice of spoken Moroccan Arabic (darija) in homestays, lectures, and field visits. Moroccan Arabic and Arabic calligraphy are also part of the course.

Research Methods and Ethics

Research Methods and Ethics – syllabus
(ANTH3500 / 3 credits)

This course is designed to provide firsthand and experiential knowledge about the richness and challenges of conducting field study in Morocco. It provides the necessary conceptual and methodological thread that enables the student to learn from experience, to apply the knowledge and skills gained in language study and the thematic course, and to prepare the student to undertake field study in Morocco in strict observance of research procedure involving human subjects and the regulatory ethical norms defined by the Institutional Review Board. At the end of the course, the student should have the cultural understanding and the methodological tools to successfully complete their Independent Study Project. The course is also designed to answer specific concerns which the research on human rights generally raises. Multiculturalism and human rights involve minority groups, former political prisoners, families of victims of torture, policy makers, and international human rights organizations. The lectures address issues that pertain to research methods, confidentiality and anonymity of informants, data gathering and interviewing, and the safety and psychology of minority groups and victims of repressive systems. Individual meetings are scheduled throughout the course and aim to address research objectives and the expectations of each student. RME also addresses key ethical issues pertaining to internship in the context of Morocco.

Independent Study Project or Internship

In addition to taking the above courses, students will also need to enroll in one of the following two courses:

Independent Study Project – syllabus
(ISPR3000 / 4 credits)

Conducted in Rabat or in another approved location appropriate to the project in Morocco. The Independent Study Project (ISP) offers students the opportunity to undertake significant, specific, and individualized independent study; students apply the concepts and skills of experience-based learning articulated and learned in all other program components. Although the ISP is largely conducted during the last four weeks of the program, considerable planning and preparation for the ISP is done throughout the term. The Research Methods and Ethics course addresses concepts and rationale, methods and techniques, and evaluation of field study, all designed to introduce the student to the general background of field study and to assist them with ISPs that will be of interest to them and relevant to the program theme. The actual fieldwork for the ISP begins with the ISP preparation sessions and individual sessions on resource search and identification of appropriate contacts and resources. Sample topic areas include: international and local nongovernmental human rights organizations in Morocco: cooperation and activism; inheritance rights and Itjihad in Morocco’s modern society; childbirth in rural Morocco; Sufi poetry; the politics of expression among women in rural Morocco; the culture of volunteering in Muslim countries; code-switching and multilingualism in Moroccan music; fiction and the Moroccan Jewish community.

Sample ISP topic areas:

  • International and local nongovernmental human rights organizations in Morocco
  • Inheritance rights and ijtihad
  • The culture of volunteering in Muslim countries
  • Fiction and the Moroccan Jewish community
  • Human rights
  • Islam in daily life
  • Women’s issues
  • Moroccan music and architecture
  • The Arab Spring
  • Cultural importance of cooking
  • Informal economy
  • Rural development projects
  • Multilingualism
  • Political pluralism
  • Nongovernmental organizations in Morocco
  • Rural schooling
  • HIV/AIDS in Morocco
  • Social organization among tanners
  • The Sahara question
  • Moroccan views of the outside world

Browse this program’s Independent Study Projects / undergraduate research.

OR

Internship and Seminar – syllabus
(ITRN300 / 4 credits)

This seminar consists of a four-week internship with a local community organization, research organization, business, or international NGO. The aim of the internship is to enable the student to gain valuable work experience and to enhance their skills in an international work environment. Students will complete an internship and submit a paper in which they process their learning experience on the job, analyze an issue important to the organization, and/or design a socially responsible solution to a problem identified by the organization. A focus will be on linking internship learning with the program’s critical global issue focus and overall program theme.

List of possible placements for Internship:

  • Human Rights
    • Association Marocaine des Droits Humains
    • Association Ouled Mimoun – Agadir
    • Social Economy Network – Tiznit
    • Organisation Marocaine des Droits Humain
    • Rawabit Assadaka – Tangier
    • Manos Solidaria – Tetouan
    • Le Mediateur Human Rights – Rabat
  • Women’s rights
    • Ligue démocratique des Droits des Femmes
    • Forum Azzahra for Moroccan Women
    • Tawaza Women Rights Association – Tetouan
  • Migrant’s rights
    • Orient Occident Foundation – Rabat
    • Plateforme des Associations et Communautes Subsahariennes au Maroc (ASCOMS) (Platform of Sub-saharan Associations and Communities in Morocco)
  • Cultural rights
    • Azetta Network for Amazigh Cultural rights – Rabat
  • Child protection against sexual abuse
  • Protection of children living in the streets
    • Association Bayti
  • Anti Corruption
    • Transparency Rabat
  • Local development and information technology
    • Association Tanmia

Homestays

Rabat

You will live with a family for eight weeks in the medina of the capital, Rabat. The historic medina is characterized by Andalusian-style homes with secluded interior courtyards, arched doorways, and blue-and white-painted exterior walls. Most residents know everyone in this tightly knit community, where you’ll quickly become part of neighborhood life.
The family is the center of life in Morocco. You’ll break bread with your host family twice a day as mealtimes are an integral part of the day. Spending time with your host family, you’ll become familiar with the sounds and gestures of Arabic as it is spoken in Morocco (darija).
Through your hosts, you will have a window into the daily life of Moroccans, accompanying members of your host family on regular activities such as shopping in the souk, sitting in cafés, and visiting the local bakery.
You’ll also have an opportunity to go to the public bath and cheer at a soccer match. You may even take part in a family wedding or newborn naming ceremony.
During your four-week ISP period, you may choose to continue living with your host family or receive a stipend to arrange your own accommodation.

Other accommodations

During excursions, accommodations include hostels, guesthouses or small hotels.

Career Paths

A diversity of students representing different colleges, universities, and majors study abroad on this program. Many of them have gone on to do amazing things that connect back to their experience abroad with SIT. Recent positions held by alumni of this program include:

  • Professor at Yale University, New Haven, CT

  • Global studies instructor at Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School for Government and International Studies, Richmond, VA

  • Managing editor of Fikra Forum at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Washington, DC

  • PhD candidate in international comparative education at Stanford University, Stanford, CA

  • PhD candidate studying Malhun music at the University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX

Faculty & Staff

Morocco: Multiculturalism and Human Rights

Taieb Belghazi, PhD bio link
Taieb Belghazi, PhD
Academic Director
Ahlam Baoui bio link
Ahlam Baoui
Program Assistant
Asmae El Laouzi, MA bio link
Asmae El Laouzi, MA
Arabic Instructor
Mariam Bakkali, PhD bio link
Mariam Bakkali, PhD
Founder and Director of LangZone

Discover the Possibilities

  • Cost & Scholarships

    SIT Study Abroad is committed to making international education accessible to all students. Scholarship awards generally range from $500 to $5,000 for semester programs and $500 to $3,000 for summer programs. This year, SIT will award nearly 1 million in scholarships and grants to SIT Study Abroad students.

    See Full Breakdown
  • ACCESSIBILITY

    Prepare for an accessible educational experience with SIT Study Abroad! In-country conditions and resources vary by site. Students with disabilities are encouraged to contact [email protected] for more information.

    Accessibility Overview
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  • Alumni Stories: Hannah Rose

    SIT Study Abroad Alumni Hannah Rose, Talks about her experience in the SIT program, Morocco: Multiculturalism and Human Rights.

    Video