Morocco

Migration and Transnational Identity – syllabus
(AFRS3000 / 3 credits)

This course provides the main context for students to engage academically, epistemologically, and intellectually with the theme of migration and mobility. Students utilize a multi-level and multi-disciplinary approach that considers core issues of local and global cultural politics, development policies and their implications on national economies, local communities, and human rights, all in the context of transnational mobility. The course facilitates the student’s development of critical perspectives capable of assimilating the reality of interconnectedness and trans nationalization not only of problems, but more important, of viable alternatives. The course is divided into modules, which explore the following themes: culture and the Mediterranean space; sub-Saharan African immigrants in Morocco and trans-Saharan crossings and related issues of human rights and refugee status; Moroccan immigrants in Europe and development; European Migration to Morocco, European migration policy, gender and migration, social movements, and transnational identities. Throughout the course, readings and class discussions address issues of religion, race, gender, identity, undocumented and underage migrants, citizenship, and nationality.

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)

The course is designed to equip students with a proficiency level in spoken Modern Standard Arabic in order to engage in everyday communication. The course integrates the skills of reading, writing, listening, grammar, vocabulary, and conversation. Students with prior study in Arabic will find reinforcement of Modern Standard Arabic through the media. Homestays, field excursions, and everyday interactions assist in language acquisition.

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 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 an Independent Study Project. The course is also designed to answer specific concerns that research on migration generally raises. Migration involves minors, undocumented migrants in transit, friends, and families of victims of clandestine migrants, associations providing support to migrants, policymakers, and international organizations. The lectures address issues that pertain to research methods, confidentiality, and anonymity of informants, interviewing and data collection, safety and migrant psychology. Individual meetings are scheduled throughout the course to address research objectives and expectations of each student. RME also addresses key ethical issues pertaing 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
Independent Study Project – syllabus
(ISPR3000 / 4 credits)

Conducted in Rabat or another approved location in Morocco appropriate to the project. Students work closely with their academic director and a local advisor to design and build their Independent Study Project (ISP). Field-based ISPs on migration include the study of socioeconomic conditions of migrants, healthcare and social protection, informal and formal education, migrants rights, migrant women, local perceptions of migration, intercultural communication, identity and resilience among migrant communities.

Sample ISP topic areas:

• The relationship between the Kingdom of Morocco and its residents abroad
• Consequences of irregular migration on racial perceptions
• African migrants in Morocco
• LGBT refugees in Morocco
• Migrant images in Moroccan media
• Youth and emigration
• Causes and consequences of clandestine migration
• Sub-Saharan immigrants and their integration in Moroccan society
• European immigration laws and their impact on migration trends in Morocco
• Migrant remittances and local development
• Life narratives of migrants
• Sub-Saharan migration and access to healthcare
• NGOs and the informal education of migrants in Morocco
• Migrant women’s activism in Morocco
• Intercultural mediation and migration
• European ‘expatriate’ community in Morocco

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

OR

Internship and Seminar
Internship and Seminar – syllabus
(ITRN3000 / 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.

Sample internships:

• Working within a local NGO advocating migrants’ rights
• Teaching English to adult migrants at a local NGO
• Participating in the evaluation of migrant startups
• Cultural animation with a local NGO
• Defending women’s rights within a local NGO
• Advocacy and fundraising for a migration NGO