Morocco

Contextual Studies in Journalism: Morocco and North Africa – syllabus
(JOUR 3000 / 4 credits)

This interdisciplinary course places journalistic practice in the context of Morocco and North Africa, covering key issues of Moroccan society. Leading Moroccan academics, analysts, civil society actors, and artists give lectures on political mobilization and participation, religion, women’s issues, economy and migration, education and literacy, human rights, and culture. Through excursions, the course covers the history of journalism in the region since Morocco’s independence (in 1956), the role that journalism and broadcast media play in the development of individual and public liberties and a democratic mode of governance, and the role of social media during and after the Arab Spring. Students produce an online magazine, Reporting Morocco, with opportunities to write articles, engage in social media, post news of the day, and work as photo editors.

Field Ethics of Journalism in Morocco – syllabus 
(JOUR 3500 / 3 credits)

This four-part course 1) introduces students to the challenge and particularities of doing journalism in Morocco through lectures with professional local and international journalists; 2) teaches students interviewing and story-telling skills; 3) covers the ethics of conducting a journalistic assignment in a regional environment; and 4) prepares students for an Independent Study Project in Journalism (ISPJ) or internship at a local media organization. Throughout the course, students learn techniques for accessing local resources, which will aid in gathering information for news and feature stories.

Independent Study Project in Journalism
Independent Study Project in Journalism – syllabus 
(ISPJ 3000 / 6 credits)

Students propose, research, and execute a full-length feature (in the media format of their choosing), which will be considered for publication or broadcast in a media outlet. Students have the rare opportunity to work alongside journalists whose bylined pieces regularly appear in media outlets around the world. Professionals provide hands-on advice and mentoring at every stage of story development, sharing expertise gathered from years in challenging global reporting situations. Story topics are assessed based on originality, richness, and appeal to a broad global audience. Students learn what it means to organize a story, select sources, question deeply, work toward balance, be alert to bias (and clichés), respond to an editor’s feedback, check facts, rework and rewrite, strive for clarity, and achieve accessible, flowing prose along with, in many cases, images and sound.

Sample Independent Study Project in Journalism topics:

• Women’s fight for inheritance rights
• The desert marathon
• The difficulty of sustaining traditional crafts in Morocco
• Surfers and the economic and cultural impact of the surfing business
• Sexual harassment and legal efforts to combat it
• Alternative energies and sustainable development
• Urban development and mega-projects
• Music festivals as political statements
• The attempts to save endangered species in Morocco
• Access to healthcare for migrants in Morocco

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

OR

Internship and Seminar
Internship and Seminar – syllabus
(ITRN3000 / 6 credits / 180 hours)

This seminar consists of a five-week, 180-hour internship with a local community organization, research organization, media outlet, cultural institution, or nongovernmental organization. The aim of the internship is to enable students to gain valuable experience and enhance their skills in journalism, media, and/or communications. SIT will use its extensive network to facilitate an internship placement for students. The organization and the student’s internship activities, including the Internship Learning Agreement, must be approved by the program’s academic director. Weekly two-hour reflection and assessment classes are held with the academic director to review the progress of the internship, including learning associated with the internship experience, and to draw out broader issues related to program themes, positionality, culture, and ethics in the context of the internship.

Sample internships

• Documenting an active agenda of cultural events and guest speakers and covering youth and education issues in the region at The Connect Institute (Agadir), an alternative higher education institution
• Assisting the publishing of original investigative reporting as well as a blog on literary/publishing/cultural news at En Toutes Lettres (Casablanca), an independent publishing house
• Supporting digital community radio programs at E-Jussour (Rabat/Tangiers/Ouarzazate), a media platform for NGOs
• Producing and posting articles at Morocco World News, an English-language news site
• Helping Racines, a cultural NGO, set up a site to report on cultural news around Morocco

Students may choose between Modern Standard Arabic for beginning or intermediate levels or, alternatively, French or Arabic for intermediate high or advanced levels.

Arabic

Beginning Modern Standard Arabic
Beginning Modern Standard Arabic – syllabus 
(ARAB 1003–1503 / 3 credits)

Intermediate Modern Standard Arabic
Intermediate Modern Standard Arabic – syllabus
(ARAB 2003–2503 / 3 credits)

Advanced Modern Standard Arabic
Advanced Modern Standard Arabic – syllabus 
(ARAB 3003–3503 / 3 credits)

The Arabic courses are designed to prepare students to engage in everyday communication. They integrate reading, writing, listening, grammar, vocabulary, and conversation. Students with prior study in Arabic will notice the use of Modern Standard Arabic throughout the media. Homestays, field excursions, and everyday interactions assist in language acquisition.

OR

French for Media and Communications: Intermediate High
French for Media and Communications: Intermediate High – syllabus
(FREN 2503 / 3 credits)

French for Media and Communications: Advanced
French for Media and Communications: Advanced – syllabus
(FREN 3003–3503 / 3 credits)

These courses aim to enhance students’ skills in French, with emphasis on written and spoken competency. The courses combine communicative exercises, comprehension, presentations, and debates with grammar learning, translation, and composition. The focus is on the French lexicon used in the fields of journalism, media, and communications.

Reporting Morocco: Powerful student-run journalism

https://reportingmorocco.sit.edu

2019

• U.S. News and World Report, “Fenced Off from the Hopes for a Better Life”
  Lauren Goldfarb, Skidmore College (text), Kate Brewer, Providence College, (photos), and Giulia Villanueva, Ithaca College (audio story).
• Atlantic Monthly CityLab, “Why Casablanca’s ‘American Landfill’ Keeps Growing”
  Chris Dillon, Vassar College
• U.S. News and World Report, “Across Morocco, No Doctor to Be Found”
  Mary A. Bernard, Notre Dame University
• Atlantic Monthly CityLab, “Demise of Les Abattoirs, a Thriving Artists’ Space in Casablanca
  Erika Riley, Knox College
  Ryan Terhune, Miami University
• “A ‘Coding School’ Seeks to Create New Opportunities in Morocco”
  Megan O’Herron, Gonzaga University (text and photos)
• U.S. News and World Report, “In Morocco, Startups Often Face a Full Stop”
  Brionne Frazier, Brown University
• Atlantic Monthly CityLab, “How a Radio Show Gives Unwed Mothers in Morocco a Voice”
  Molly Keisman, Denison University (text and photo)

2018

• Middle East Eye, “’Hey, sexy’: Long road ahead to combat sexual harassment in Morocco”
  Olivia Lewis, Miami University
• USA Today, “Crafting mosaic tile is an endangered tradition. Here are the folks keeping it alive”
  Sophie Pollack, Santa Clara University (text and photos), Jeanette Lam, University of Richmond (video)
• USA Today, “In Morocco, Residents Never Know When Water Will Flow so They Leave the Taps On”
  Sophie Nunnally, Boston College (text and photos), Lars Brady, University of Denver (audio story)
• Middle East Eye, “Morocco’s Go-It-Alone News Outlets Feel Government Squeeze”
  Lara Korte, University of Kansas (text and photos)
• U.S. News and World Report, “Uber Parks Its Service in Morocco”
  Zakiyyah Chism, Davidson College (text)
• Middle East Eye, “‘Migrants Don’t Exist’: Morocco Struggles with Migration Issues Despite Reforms”
  Gillian Coyne, Bates College (text)
• U.S. News and World Report, “Out in the Cold”
  Olivia Fore, University of Redlands (text)

2017

• USA Today, “Climate change threatens nomadic life in Morocco”
  Perry Demarche, University of Rochester (text), Merry Mathis, University of Iowa (photos)
• PRI, “Shredding the patriarchy – Two Moroccan women just surfed onto the world stage”
  David Fuchs, Middlebury College (text) and Mary Mathis, University of Iowa (photos)
• Outside, “A Famous Moroccan Surf Competition Just Opened Up to Women for the First Time”
  David Fuchs, Middlebury College (text) and Mary Mathis, University of Iowa (photos)
• Global Health Hub, “Navigating Hearing Disabilities in Morocco”
  Maria Luisa Frasson-Nori, Duke University (text)

2016

• Global Health Hub, “One Man’s Death Points to Shortcomings in Morocco’s Mental Health Infrastructure”
  Molly Mulroy, Loyola University
• Al Jazeera, “The fall and the rise of Morocco’s left”
  Nora Kipnis, Oberlin College
• Al Jazeera, “Morocco: A two-speed country”
  Danielle Douglas, University of Rochester
• Al Jazeera, “Morocco harnesses the power of the sun​”
  Danielle Douglas, University of Rochester (text), Wesley Lickus, Dickinson College (photos)
• U.S. News & World Report, “Bigger, but Not Necessarily Better”
  Darren Spirk, Gettysburg College (text)
• Al Jazeera, “Morocco’s Colonial Heritage in Higher Education”
  Jennifer Kwon, Carleton College (text and some photos)
• The Global Health Hub, “Traditional Medicine Popular in Morocco”
  Katherine McMillin, University of Colorado Boulder (text and photos)
• Newsweek, “Prostitution in Morocco? Shocked! Shocked!”
  Kayla Dwyer, Ithaca College (text and photos)
• Newsweek, “Why Domestic Violence Still Plagues Morocco”
  Daria Etezadi, Georgetown University (text)

2015

• Al Jazeera, “Moroccan Medical Students Decry Working Conditions”
  Aida Alami, Moroccan partner, and Simeon Lancaster, University of St. Thomas Minnesota (text) and Trey Strange, University of Houston (photos)
• USA Today, “Willing to Break”
  JP Keenan, Ithaca College and Sutton Raphael, University of Oregon
• Al-Fanar Media, “Student Protests for Western Sahara Independence Draw Crackdowns”
  Brennan Weiss, Marist College (text)
• The Global Health Hub, “Broken Promises: The Fight to Educate Children with Disabilities in the Middle East and North Africa”
  Sarah Ford, University of Denver (text) and Emma Hohenstein, Maryland Institute College of Art (photos)
• U.S. News & World Report, “Christians in Morocco: A Crisis of Faith”
  Kacie Graves, Illinois Wesleyan University (text) and Julia Levine, Ithaca College (photos)
• Al Jazeera, “Morocco’s Teachers Battle Urban-Rural Education Divide”
  Kiannah Sepeda-Miller, Knox College (text) and Julia Barstow, Bennington College (photos)
• Zester Daily, “Beloved Cheesemaker’s Cart a Secret Moroccan Treat”
  Zoë Hu, New York University Abu Dhabi (text) and Eloise Schieferdecker, Bennington College (photos)
• McClatchy DC, “Aging Adventurer Runs and Runs—To Show He Still Can”
  Ben Bartenstein, Macalester College (text) and Kirsten Marie Kortebein, University of Michigan Ann Arbor (photos)
• Thomson Reuters Foundation, “In Morocco, Illegitimate Children Struggle for Rights”
  Lauren Kopchik, St. Michael’s College (text) and Rachel Woolf, Ithaca College (photo)
• Zester Daily, “Syrian Refugees Find Tastes of Home in Morocco”
  Ben Bartenstein, Macalester College (text) and Julia Barstow, Bennington College (photos)
• Al Jazeera, “Morocco’s Tcharmils ‘Consider Jail Home’ ”
  Frankie Stiles, University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill (text)
• Al Jazeera, “Another Shore: Morocco’s Child Migrants”
  Zoë Hu, New York University (text) and Eloise Schieferdecker, Bennington College (photos)
• Ensia, “Saving Morocco’s Endangered Barbary Macaques”
  Olivia Poblacion, Oregon State University (text) and Dev Dharm Khalsa, College of Wooster (photos)

2014

• Al Jazeera, “Morocco’s Young Entrepreneurs Face Barriers”
  Hannah Norman, Wesleyan University (text)
• GlobalPost, “Underage Moroccan Girls Married Off with Judges’ Consent”
  Hannah Rehak, Macalester College (text) and William Matsuda, Macalester College (photos)
• GlobalHealthHub.org, “Morocco’s Children of the Moon Suffer in the Dark of Poor Health Care”
  Francine Krieger, Illinois Wesleyan University (text)
• The Baltimore Sun, “Deadly Skin Disease Inflicts Moroccan Teens”
  Rachel Woolf, Ithaca College (photos)
• GlobalHealthHub.org, “For HIV Positive Moroccans, Life is Grim”
  Mark Minton, Columbia College Chicago (text)
• Living on Earth, “Fascinating & Toxic – Traditional Moroccan Tanneries”
  Amulya Shankar, George Washington University (text) and Julian Harris, Marlboro College (photos)
• The Chronicle of Higher Education and Al-Fanar Media, “Do Human Evolution and Islam Conflict in the Classroom?”
  Sadia Khatri, Mount Holyoke College (text)
• GlobalPost, “What It Means to Be ‘Amazigh’ in Morocco”
  JP Keenan, Ithaca College (photos and text)
• Al-Fanar Media, “In Morocco, Immigrants’ Children Face Educational Barriers”
  Imani Brammer, Ithaca College (text)
• The Christian Science Monitor, “Stranded in Morocco, Syrians Join African Migrants in Storming Europe’s Door”
  Ella Bańka, Duke University (text)
• GlobalPost, “Guerrilla Filmmakers Celebrate Anniversary of Morocco’s ‘Arab Uprising’ ”
  Allison Shirk, University of Nebraska–Lincoln (text)

2013

• The Christian Science Monitor, “For African Refugees in Morocco, a Perilous Path to Asylum”
  Jacob Axelrad, University of Michigan (text)
• Thomson Reuters Foundation, “Women Provide ‘Spiritual Security’ in Morocco”
  Samantha Harrington, University of North Carolina (text)
• The Christian Science Monitor, “In Morocco, Activists Struggle to Keep Protest Fervor Alive”
  Maddy Crowell, Carleton College (text)
• The Christian Science Monitor, “ ‘The World Upside Down’: The Rise of Spanish Immigration to Morocco”
  Rose Gunson, University of Redlands (film) and Karis Hustad, Loyola University Chicago (text)
• GlobalPost, “Morocco Limits International Adoptions”
  Lydia Cheng, University of Tulsa (text)
• PRI’s The World, “Soultana: ‘The Voice of Women’ Raps in Morocco”
  Mary Stucky (text) and Shalea Harris, New York University (photos)

2012

• Marketplace, “In Morocco Some Dream of a Kingly Gift”
  Mary Stucky (text) with reporting contributed by Veronica Jean Seltzer, Tufts University
• The New York Times, “On the Run in the Sahara, for 153 Miles”
  Jacqueline Kantor, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (text) and Kirsten Marie Kortebein, University of Michigan Ann Arbor (photos)
• GlobalPost, “Moroccan Women Build Land Rights Movement”
  Stacy Nicole Wheeler, Scripps College (text)
• GlobalPost, “Lesbians in Morocco: Should We Stay or Should We Go?”
  Marie von Hafften, Whitman College (text)
• Outside Magazine, “The Marathon des Sables”
  Kirsten Marie Kortebein, University of Michigan Ann Arbor (photos)