​Morocco: Political and Social Development​

PUAF 359T  /  PUAF 798T  /  CPSP 379P  /  UNIV 318P​
3 Credits​
Winter Term 2013

 

Course Description

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The course will expose students to Morocco, especially focusing on its political and social development. The course consists of:

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a. Lectures by Moroccan scholars on the Arab Spring in Morocco, the role of religion in Moroccan society, the women's and Amazigh (Berber) movements, the political process and efforts to democratize Moroccan society.
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b. Students will also learn survival Moroccan Arabic in the first week. All lectures will be held at AmidEast (our partner organization in Morocco, which helps run the program) in Rabat.
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c. Living with host families to be fully immersed in Moroccan culture.
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d. Field trips in Rabat to various NGOs and the Moroccan parliament, the Royal Institute for Amazigh Studies, the Human Development Initiative, and visits with Moroccan university students.
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e. Weekend trips to Fez, Casablanca, Marrakesh, Meknes, Volublis. This includes sightseeing (including important cultural landmarks such as the Hassan II Mosque) as well as additional NGO visits.
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f. Visit to a rural Berber village, Toufstlt, outside of Ain Leuh.
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g. Group discussion sessions.

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Through these interactions, students will be able to learn about various important and current issues in Morocco, including poverty, democratization, women's and minority rights, and cultural diversity. Students should come out of the course with a solid understanding of Morocco’s political, economic, and social development.

 

 

Course Grading

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         -- Participation (20%)
         -- Personal Journals (30%)
         -- Final Paper (50%)



1. Participation: Pose questions, share observations, formulate new insights, challenge and evaluate others’ views, mediate differences. Nonparticipation includes passive listening. Lateness to lectures is unacceptable.



2. Personal Journals: Must be written daily while in Morocco, no more than 100 words/day. Do it before retiring each night (you will forget much by the next day). Reflect on lectures, discussions, site visits, and other group or personal activities. You need only write about one topic, but can definitely discuss multiple topics.  Here are some suggestions for critical reflection:



a. Something you learned, something that surprised you, and why. How has this experience affected you?
b. New questions or problems you want to learn more about in Morocco.
c. Substantive additions to the readings or your thoughts on the readings in the context of the day’s events.

The journal entries can include photos.



Due on Monday, January 23 (anytime), but feel free to submit when we leave Morocco. Typed journals can be emailed to us, and hard copies can be given to us on the last day in Morocco or in Professor Afzal’s mailbox.

Best entries to be posted on course website: we will ask you to select a couple of your favorite journal entries from the trip and we will post one entry from each of you on a public website for our course once we are back. We will also ask you to share a few of your favorite pictures which we will also post on the website.



 

3. Final Paper: Should be an analytical paper on one/a few of the major theme(s) of the course, informed by research (primary and secondary) and your own Moroccan experience.

Due Monday, January 30 (anytime) via email or in Professor Afzal’s mailbox.

Undergraduate papers: 10-15 pages, typed, double-spaced, 12 point Times New Roman Font, 1” margins.
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Graduate students’ papers: 20-25 pages typed, double-spaced, 12 point Times New Roman Font, 1” margins.

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Examples of some final paper topics:

• A critical review of some of your readings.
• Critically analyze the mission and operation of an organization you visited while in Morocco.
• Further develop an issue relating to the general themes we addressed in the course, such as women’s rights and Moroccan development or the democratization process in Morocco.

 

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Course Readings

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REQUIRED Readings-- Books

​• Bruce Maddy-Weitzman.  “The Berber Identity Movement and the Challenge to North African States.”

                    o Chapter 3: “State Consolidation and Berber Otherness” – Pages 84-101
                    o Chapter 4: “Algerian Strife, Moroccan Homeopathy and the Amazigh Movement” – Pages 117-127
                    o Chapter Six: “Mohamed VI's Morocco and the Amazigh Movement” – Pages 153-182

 

REQUIRED Readings -- Articles

 

 

• Evan Selinger, “Ethics and Poverty Tours,” Philosophy and Public Policy Quarterly, Vol. 29. No. 1/2 (Winter/Spring 2009), 2-7.



          Morocco - General background/Data



• The World Bank:
          1. Country Data Page

                    http://data.worldbank.org/country/morocco
          2. Morocco Country Brief

                    http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/morocco

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• US State Department:

                    http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5431.htm

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• USAID:

                    http://www.usaid.gov/locations/middle_east/countries/morocco/
 

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          Morocco - Economic Development

• Lahcen Achy, “Morocco’s Experience with Poverty Reduction: Lessons for the Arab World”, Carnegie Middle East Center.  Washington, DC: Number 25, December 2010.
                    http://carnegieendowment.org/files/morocco_poverty1.pdf
 

• Social and Economic Development Group, “The Kingdom of Morocco: Moving out of Poverty in Morocco,” The World Bank.  Washington, DC: Draft Report No. 39992-MOR, July 2007.

                    http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTMOVOUTPOV/Resources/2104215-1187710751691/MOP_Morocco.pdf
 

          Morocco - Political Development
 

• Dan Ephron, “The Survivor”.  Newsweek. September 5, 2011. Vol. 158 No. 10. Pp 48-51.

• Laila Lalami, “The Moroccan Exception”.  Nation. September 12, 2011. Vol. 293 Issue 11, p29-31.

                    http://www.thenation.com/article/162967/moroccan-exception

• Kenneth Pollack, “In Morocco: A Quiet Revolution”, Brookings Up Front Blog.

                    http://www.brookings.edu/opinions/2011/0620_morocco_pollack.aspx
 

• Monjib, Maati, The "Democratization" Process in Morocco: Progress, Obstacles and the Impact of the Islamist-Secularist Divide, Brookings working paper.

                    http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Files/rc/papers/2011/08_morocco_monjib/08_morocco_monjib.pdf

• Hamid, Shadi, The Monarchy Model, Slate (2011).

                    http://www.brookings.edu/opinions/2011/0701_morocco_hamid.aspx
 

• Shadi Hamid & Anouar Boukhars, Morocco's Moment of Reform?

                    http://www.brookings.edu/opinions/2011/0628_morocco_hamid_boukhars.aspx
 

          On the November 25, 2011 elections  
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• "In Parliament Vote in Morocco, Many Stay Skeptical."

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/26/world/africa/morocco-votes-in-first-ballot-since-reform-of-parliament.html?scp=2&sq=Morocco%20election&st=cse

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• "Moderate Islamist Party to Lead Coalition Government In Morocco."

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/28/world/africa/moderate-islamist-party-to-lead-coalition-government-in-morocco.html?_r=1&scp=3&sq=Morocco%20election&st=cse
 

          Morocco – Gender
 

• Stephanie Wilman Bordat, “Women as Agents of Grassroots Change: Illustrating Micro-Empowerment in Morocco”. Journal of Middle East Women’s Studies. Volume 7, no. 1 (Winter 2011): 90-119.
                    htttp://www.peacewomen.org/assets/file/Resources/Academic/ser_womenasagentsofgrassrootschange_winter2011.pdf

• Katie Zoglin, “Morocco’s Family Code: Improving Equality for Women”. Human Rights Quarterly 31, no. 4 (November 2009): 964-984.

• The International Foundation for Electoral Systems, “Focus on Morocco: Social Attitudes Toward Women Topic Brief.” June 22, 2010.
http://www.ifes.org/Content/Publications/Papers/2010/~/media/Files/Publications/Papers/2010/swmena/2010_Morocco_Social_Attitudes_English.pdf

 

          Morocco - Imazighen/Berbers
 

• “Springtime for them too?”. The Economist.  August 13, 2011. Vol. 399 Issue 8746, p44.

                    http://www.economist.com/node/21525925



• “Giving Voice to a Long Repressed People”. U.S. News & World Report. March 24, 2008, Vol. 144 Issue 9, p29-30





RECOMMENDED -- Books

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​​​• We highly recommend that you purchase a good tour book on Morocco, such as the Rough Guide to Morocco, Lonely Planet Morocco, Eyewitness Guide or Frommer’s Morocco.



• Marvine Howe, Morocco: The Islamist Awakening and Other Challenges (Oxford University Press, 2005). Chapter 7.

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​RECOMMENDED -- Articles

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​• David A. Crocker, “Cross-Cultural Criticism and Development Ethics,” Philosophy and Public Policy Quarterly, Vol. 24. No 3 (Summer 2004), 2-8.​

          Read only the 1st article in this file:  http://www.publicpolicy.umd.edu/files.php/ippp/vol24summer04.pdf



• Thierry Desrues and Juana Moreno Nieto, “The Development of Gender Equality for Moroccan Women – Illusion or Reality?” Journal of Gender Studies. 18, no. 1 (March 2009): 25-34.

 



Course Policies

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Attendance: Students must attend all class sessions, site visits, field visits, and group activities, including discussions during our time in Morocco. Lateness and skipping sessions is unacceptable.



Late assignments: Late assignments will be penalized at 10% per day.

Students with disabilities: If you are a student with a documented physical or learning disability, please notify one of your directors at your earliest convenience so that we can make arrangements for necessary accommodations.

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Conduct and behavior abroad: As ethically responsible adults and representatives of the University of Maryland, the Public Leadership Program, and the School of Public Policy, all students are expected to conduct themselves in a professional and responsible manner during our study trip. This policy not only applies to our seminars and other joint activities, but also to your conduct with your host family and during your free time. The Director reserves the right to dismiss a student from the course and arrange for his or her return – at the student’s expense -- to the USA if, in the Director’s opinion, the student is taking unreasonable risks or acting irresponsibly or unprofessionally.