This interdisciplinary course examines the multifaceted dynamics of North African Identities in the context of the region’s close links with Europe, the Middle East, and Sub-Saharan Africa. It focuses on the ways ethnicity, language, religion, and gender affect both the cultural and political dynamics and how people, reject, adapt, assimilate, and construct their identities. Readings will cover Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Lybia, and Egypt.
Prerequisites:
None
Learning outcomes:
By the end of the course, students are able to:
Discuss the cultural identities in the North African context.
Identify the ways in which cultural identities are politically charged and hotly contested in the current global context;
Produce creative and original responses to problems and issues related to the North African Cultural space.
Method of presentation:
A combination of lectures, discussions, seminar format, case studies, student presentations, field visits to museums.
Required work and form of assessment:
Completion of readings; assignments and active participation (10%)
Two Essays (15%)
Mid-term Evaluation (15%)
Final Exam (25%)
Research term paper (10-15 pages): 20%
Oral report (a formal assignment): 15%
content:
Week One: North Africa: A Historical Overview
Required Reading:
Oliver, Roland Anthony and Fage, J.D. A Short History of Africa. Penguin Books: London and New York, N.Y., U.S.A. 1988, 6th edition.
Joseph Galbo. Review Essay of Albert Memmi. Decolonization and the Decolonized. Canadian Journal of Sociology Online. March-April 2007.
Week Two: Language and the Construction of North African Identities
Required Reading:
Sirles, Craig A. Politics and Arabisation: The Evolution of Postindependence North Africa. In Int’l. J. Soc. Lan. 137 (1999), pp. 115-129. Walter de Druyter.
Marley, Dawn. From Monolingualism to Multilingualism: Recent Changes in Moroccan Language Policy. In Proceedings of the 4th International Symposium on Bilingualism. James Cohen, Kara T. McAlister, Kellie Rolstad, and Jeff MacSwan, (Eds.). Dawn Marley. 2005, pp.1487-1500. Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Press.
Daoud, Mohamed. The Language Situation in Tunisia. In Current Issues In Language Planning. 2001, Vol.2, No.1, pp. 1-52.
Dunwoodie, Peter. Assimilation, Cultural Identity, and Permissible Deviance in Francophone Algerian Writing of the Interwar Years.
Week Three: Conceptualizing North Africa
Required Reading:
Abdullatif, Ali (Ed.). “Introduction”. Beyond Colonialism & Nationalism in the Maghreb: History, Culture, Politics. London: Palgrave, 2000. P1-12. (See Reading Prof. Belghazi)
Hart, David Montgomery. Conflicting Models of a Berber Tribal Structure in the Moroccan Rif: the Segmentary and Alliance System of the Aith Varyaghar. In Revue de l'Occident Musulman et de la Méditerranée, N°7, 1970. pp. 93-99.
Hart, David Montgomery. Faulty models of North African and Middle Eastern tribal Structures. In: Revue du monde musulman et de la Méditerranée, N°68-69, 1993. pp. 225-238.
Tobolka, Radim. Gellner and Geertz in Morocco: A Segmentary Debate. In Social Evolution & History, Vol. 2 No. 2, September 2003 88–117. ‘Uchitel’ Publishing House
Waterbury, John. Bargaining for Segmentarity, in Tribe and State; Essays in honour of David Montgomerry Hart. Eds. Joffe, E.G.H and C.R Pennell. Wisbech: Menas Press, 1991. pp. 4-13.
Week Four: Arabs and Amazighs (Berbers)
Required Reading:
Duclos, Jean Louis. “The Berbers and the Rise of Moroccan Nationalism3 In Arabs and Berbers from Tribe to Nation in North Africa. Eds. Gellner, Ernest and Charles Micaud. London: Duckworth, 1973, pp. 4-13.
Ben Abdeljelil Jameleddine. “The Discourse of Identity in the Maghreb between Difference and Universality”. In IRIE International Review of Information Ethics Vol.7, www.i-r-i-e.net, 2007. pp.1614-1687
Activity: Visit to Royal Institute of the Amazigh Culture (IRCAM).
Week Five: Cultural Authoritarianism (See Pro. Belghazi’ readings)
Required Reading:
Hammoudi, Abdellah. Master and Disciple: The Cultural Foundations of Moroccan Authoritarianism. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 1997. In Islamic Law and Society, vol. 10, N° 1.
Bourquia, Rahma. In the Shadow of the Sultan. In Bourquia, Rahma et al (Eds.). In the Shadow of the Sultan Culture, Power, and Politics in Morocco. Cambridge: Harvard Center fo Middle East Studies, 1999, pp. 243-258.
Week Six: Youth Culture
Required Reading:
Graham E. Fuller. The Youth Crisis in Middle Eastern Society. Institute for Social Policy and Understanding. Clinton Township, Michigan. 2004, pp.2-13.
Les Anges de Satan (The Angels of Satan), by Ahmed Boulane
Casa Negra by Nour Eddine Lakhmari
Bab El Oued City by Merzak Allouache
Week Seven: Identity Politics and Social Movements
Required Reading:
Azza Karam. “Transnational Political Islam”. In Azza Karam (ed.). Transnational Political Islam: Relision, Ideology and Power. Pluto Press. 2004, pp. 1-27. (See Prof. Belghazi’s Program).
Samir Amghar; Political Islam in Morocco. CEPS Working Document No. 269/June 2007. Center for European Policy Studies. CEPS Thinking Ahead fro Europe. website (http://www.ceps.be). 2007, pp. 1-13
Asef Bayat and Martijn de Koning. The Making of Youth Moslems. ISIM Review 16/Autunm 2005; Marloes Janson; Islam in Africa. . ISIM Review 16/Autunm 2005, pp 1-2.
Philips, James. Revolutionary Islam in Algeria. In The Backgrounder Heritage Foundation. 1995, Volume 9, N° 1060..
Week Eight: Gender and the Construction of North African Identities
Required Reading:
Valentine M. Moghadam. Gender, National Identity and Citizenship: Reflections on the Middle East and North Africa. In Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East, 1999, Vol. XIX No. , pp. 137-156.
Suad Joseph. Gender and Citizenship in the Arab World. University of California, Davis Concept Paper United Nations Development Program / Maroc 20/20. Mediterranean Development Forum, Amman April 8, 2002, pp.1-47.
Naciri, Rabéa . The Women.s Movement and Political Discourse in Morocco. Occasional Paper 8, March 1998. United Nations Research Institute for Social Development United Nations Development Programme, pp. 1-34.
Women's Rights in the Arab World. Overview of the Status of Women in Family Law with Special Reference to the Influence of Islamic Factors Published by: Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH Postfach 5180, 65726 Eschborn Internet: http://www.gtz.de.
Fatima Mernissi. 1994. Dream of Trespass. Chapter I & II, pp. 1-19.
Daisy Hilse Dwyer. Images and Self-Image. 1978, pp. 39-60
Bentahar, Ziad. "Beyond Harem Walls: Redefining Women's Space in Works by Assia Djebar, Malek Alloula and Fatima Mernissi." Hawwa: Journal of Women of the Middle East and the Islamic World 7.1 (2009): 25-38.
Week Nine: The Politics of Memory
Required Reading:
Loudiy, Fedoua. “Facing a Bloody Past: Transitional justice: A Historical • and Conceptual Framework. Pp.393-423.
Alexis Arieff. Morocco: Current Issues. Analyst in African Affairs. Congressional Research Service 7-5700. CRS Report for Congress Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress. www.crs.gov RS21579. December 20, 2011.
Week Ten: Art and the Construction of North African Identities
Required Reading:
El Hamel, Chouki. “Constructing A Diasporic Identity: Tracing The Origins of the Gnawa Spiritual Group In Morocco. In Journal of African History, 49 (2008), pp. 241–60. f 2008. Cambridge University Press.
Bentahar, Ziad. “The Visibility of African Identity in Moroccan Music”. Online publication date: 12 February 2010, pp. 1-9. Wasafiri Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/title~content=t716100725
Doborah Kapchan. 2007, pp. 1-23 (Prof. Beghazi’s program)
Kapchan, Deborah. Gnawa and Transglobal Trance: The Medium is the Music. Volume 46, N° 1 Expedition. 2007, pp. 30-37. WWW. MUSEUM UPENN.EDU/PBLICATION.
Week Eleven:Modernity, the New Global Arrangements and North African Cultural Identities
Required Reading:
Clinton Bennett. 2005, pp. 63-84.
Susan Ossman. 2002, pp.14-170.
Week Twelve:Media Constructions of Identities
Required Reading:
Larbi Chouikha. Satellite Telivision in the Maghreb: Plural Reception and Interference of Identities. In History and Anthropology, Vol. 18, N° 3, 2007, pp.367-377.
Nabil Echchaibi, (Be)Longing Media: Minority Radio Between Cultural Retention And Renewal. In The Public. Vol. 9, 2002, pp 37-50.
Joseph D. Straubhaar. Global, Hybrid or Multiple? Cultural Identities. In the Age of Satellite TV and the Internet. In Plenary I. Global, Hybrid or Multiple? In Nordicom-Information 4-2008. NordMedia 2007. Redaktör: Ulla Carlsson.2008, 375 p., (Nordicom Information).
Thomas Tufte. Exploring Cultural Globalisation. New Forms of Experience and Citizen-driven Change Processes. ? In Nordicom-Information 4-2008. NordMedia 2007. Redaktör: Ulla Carlsson.2008, 375 p., (Nordicom Information).
Susan Ossman. Cinderella, CVs, and Neighborhood Nemima: Announcing Morocco’s Royal Wedding. In Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East, Vol. 27, N° 3, 2007, pp. 525-535.
Required readings:
Ahmida, Ali Abdullatif (Ed.). “Introduction”. Beyond Colonialism and Nationalism in the Maghrib: History, Culture, Politics. London: Palgrave, 2000.
Burgat, Fran?ois and W. Dowell. The Islamic Movement in North Africa. 1993.
Morocco. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2001.
Cooke, Miriam and Bruce B. Lawrence. From Hajj to Hip Hop. Chapel Hill and London: The University of
Courbage, Youssef. “Demographic Change in the Arab World: The Impact of Migration, Education and
Duclos, Louis-Jean, “The Berbers and the rise of Moroccan nationalism”. Arabs and Berbers From Tribe to
Eickelman, Dale. Moroccan Islam. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1976.
Gafa?ti, Hafid; “The Monotheism of the Other: Language and De/Construction of National Identity in Postcolonial Algeria”. Algeria in Others’ Languages. Ed. Berger, Anne-Emmanuelle. Cornell: Cornell University Press, 2002.
Graiouid, Said. “Post-Colonial Interactions: Urban Communication, undocumented cultures, and Moroccan Identities”. Urban Generations. Eds. Richards, David et.al. Rabat: Publications of the Faculty of Letters, 2005.
Hammoudi, Abdellah. Master and Disciple: the Cultural Foundations of Moroccan Authoritarianism.
Kapchan, Deborah. Traveling Spirit Masters: Moroccan Gnawa Trance and Music in the Global
Karam, Azza (ed). Transnational Political Islam: Religion, Ideology and Power. Pluto Press, 2004. Ketterer, James. “Networks of Discontent in Morocco: Drugs, Opposition and Urban Unrest”. Middle East Report. No. 218, Spring 2001.
Culture, Power, and Politics in Morocco. Bourqia, Rahma, et.al. Cambridge: Harvard Center for
Laroui, Abdallah. The History of the Maghreb: An Interpretive Essay. Translated by Ralph Manhem.
Lorcin, Particia. Algeria and France 1800-2000: Identity, Memory and Nostalgia. Syracuse University
MacDougall, James. Nation, Society and Culture in North Africa. London: Routledge, 2003.
Mernissi, Fatima. The Veil and the Male Elite: A Feminist Interpretation of Women’s Rights in Islam. Reading, MA: Perseus Books, 1991.
Waterbury, John. Bargaining for Segmentarity, in Tribe and State essays in honour of David Montgomerry Hart. Eds. Joffe, E.G.H and C.R. Pennell. Wisbech: Menas Press, 1991.
Zartman, William (ed). Tunisia: The Political Economy of Reforms. Lynn Reinner Publishers, 1991. Zoubir, Yahia and Haizam Amirah-Fernandez. North Africa: Politics, Region and the Limits of Transformation. London: Routledge, 2008.
Brief Biography of Instructor:
Yamina El Kirat El Allame earned her Ph.D in Minority Languages, Cultures, and Identities in Morocco. She was a Fulbright Visiting Scholar at Greenville Tech in 2010 with a program focus entitled "Direct Access to the Muslim World". She is currently professor and coordinator of the Doctoral Program "Studies in Language and Society" and the Research Laboratory "Culture, Language, Education, Migration and Society" at the Faculty of Letters and Human Sciences in Rabat. Her research interests include Cultural Anthropology, Cultural Linguistics, Language Endangerment, Minority Languages, Cultures and Identities, Gender Issues, and Social Movements. Her interest in the issue of identity stemmed from her personal experience as an Amazigh who has experienced the stigmatization of the Amazigh language and identity.
This interdisciplinary course examines the multifaceted dynamics of North African Identities in the context of the region’s close links with Europe, the Middle East, and Sub-Saharan Africa. It focuses on the ways ethnicity, language, religion, and gender affect both the cultural and political dynamics and how people, reject, adapt, assimilate, and construct their identities. Readings will cover Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Lybia, and Egypt.
None
By the end of the course, students are able to:
A combination of lectures, discussions, seminar format, case studies, student presentations, field visits to museums.
Week One: North Africa: A Historical Overview
Required Reading:
Week Two: Language and the Construction of North African Identities
Required Reading:
Week Three: Conceptualizing North Africa
Required Reading:
Week Four: Arabs and Amazighs (Berbers)
Required Reading:
Activity: Visit to Royal Institute of the Amazigh Culture (IRCAM).
Week Five: Cultural Authoritarianism (See Pro. Belghazi’ readings)
Required Reading:
Week Six: Youth Culture
Required Reading:
Week Seven: Identity Politics and Social Movements
Required Reading:
Week Eight: Gender and the Construction of North African Identities
Required Reading:
Week Nine: The Politics of Memory
Required Reading:
Week Ten: Art and the Construction of North African Identities
Required Reading:
Week Eleven: Modernity, the New Global Arrangements and North African Cultural Identities
Required Reading:
Week Twelve: Media Constructions of Identities
Required Reading:
Ahmida, Ali Abdullatif (Ed.). “Introduction”. Beyond Colonialism and Nationalism in the Maghrib: History, Culture, Politics. London: Palgrave, 2000.
Burgat, Fran?ois and W. Dowell. The Islamic Movement in North Africa. 1993.
Morocco. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2001.
Cooke, Miriam and Bruce B. Lawrence. From Hajj to Hip Hop. Chapel Hill and London: The University of
Courbage, Youssef. “Demographic Change in the Arab World: The Impact of Migration, Education and
Duclos, Louis-Jean, “The Berbers and the rise of Moroccan nationalism”. Arabs and Berbers From Tribe to
Eickelman, Dale. Moroccan Islam. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1976.
Gafa?ti, Hafid; “The Monotheism of the Other: Language and De/Construction of National Identity in Postcolonial Algeria”. Algeria in Others’ Languages. Ed. Berger, Anne-Emmanuelle. Cornell: Cornell University Press, 2002.
Graiouid, Said. “Post-Colonial Interactions: Urban Communication, undocumented cultures, and Moroccan Identities”. Urban Generations. Eds. Richards, David et.al. Rabat: Publications of the Faculty of Letters, 2005.
Hammoudi, Abdellah. Master and Disciple: the Cultural Foundations of Moroccan Authoritarianism.
Kapchan, Deborah. Traveling Spirit Masters: Moroccan Gnawa Trance and Music in the Global
Karam, Azza (ed). Transnational Political Islam: Religion, Ideology and Power. Pluto Press, 2004. Ketterer, James. “Networks of Discontent in Morocco: Drugs, Opposition and Urban Unrest”. Middle East Report. No. 218, Spring 2001.
Culture, Power, and Politics in Morocco. Bourqia, Rahma, et.al. Cambridge: Harvard Center for
Laroui, Abdallah. The History of the Maghreb: An Interpretive Essay. Translated by Ralph Manhem.
Lorcin, Particia. Algeria and France 1800-2000: Identity, Memory and Nostalgia. Syracuse University
MacDougall, James. Nation, Society and Culture in North Africa. London: Routledge, 2003.
Mernissi, Fatima. The Veil and the Male Elite: A Feminist Interpretation of Women’s Rights in Islam. Reading, MA: Perseus Books, 1991.
Waterbury, John. Bargaining for Segmentarity, in Tribe and State essays in honour of David Montgomerry Hart. Eds. Joffe, E.G.H and C.R. Pennell. Wisbech: Menas Press, 1991.
Zartman, William (ed). Tunisia: The Political Economy of Reforms. Lynn Reinner Publishers, 1991. Zoubir, Yahia and Haizam Amirah-Fernandez. North Africa: Politics, Region and the Limits of Transformation. London: Routledge, 2008.
Yamina El Kirat El Allame earned her Ph.D in Minority Languages, Cultures, and Identities in Morocco. She was a Fulbright Visiting Scholar at Greenville Tech in 2010 with a program focus entitled "Direct Access to the Muslim World". She is currently professor and coordinator of the Doctoral Program "Studies in Language and Society" and the Research Laboratory "Culture, Language, Education, Migration and Society" at the Faculty of Letters and Human Sciences in Rabat. Her research interests include Cultural Anthropology, Cultural Linguistics, Language Endangerment, Minority Languages, Cultures and Identities, Gender Issues, and Social Movements. Her interest in the issue of identity stemmed from her personal experience as an Amazigh who has experienced the stigmatization of the Amazigh language and identity.