Morocco

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.

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 – 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.

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
  • Association AMANE
• Protection of children living in the streets
  • Association Bayti
• Anti Corruption
  • Transparency Rabat
• Local development and information technology
  • Association Tanmia