HomeForeigners’ Presence, Cosmopolitanism and Social Changes in Contemporary Morocco
Foreigners’ Presence, Cosmopolitanism and Social Changes in Contemporary Morocco
Présence des étrangers, cosmopolitisme et changements sociaux au Maroc contemporain
Published on mercredi, avril 09, 2014
Summary
This workshop is an attempt to bring together researchers from different backgrounds whose work focuses on or is linked in some ways to the issue of the migrants’ presence in Morocco and social changes that it implicates. The goal of this workshop is to create a space for cross-disciplinary contributions to the understanding of contemporary “cosmopolitan” Morocco.
Announcement
Argument
The Centre Jacques Berque for the research on Humanities and Social Sciences (CJB), and the LEPOSHS (Laboratory of Political Studies, Humanities and Social Sciences of the International University of Rabat), in cooperation with the Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS), are organizing a workshop on “Foreigners’ Presence, Cosmopolitanism and Social Changes in Contemporary Morocco”.
This workshop is an attempt to bring together researchers from different backgrounds whose work focuses on or is linked in some ways to the issue of the migrants’ presence in Morocco and social changes that it implicates. The goal of this workshop is to create a space for cross-disciplinary contributions to the understanding of contemporary “cosmopolitan” Morocco.
Until today, concepts and terms such as “transit”, “expatriate”, “illegal immigrant”, and “sub-Saharan populations” have gained extensive public and academic attention. However, they lack conceptual precision and need further epistemological and empirical definition Moreover, they obscure the fact that Morocco has historically always been a country of immigration. Indeed, although Moroccan society is the product of an inextricable intermingling of populations of different origins, it is only recently that it has started being perceived as such. The intent is to gather academics who elaborate on the different interpretations of the term “foreigner” in the Moroccan context, who analyze the different categorizations, and who examine the different perceptions in Moroccan society. This will enable us to tackle not only the subject of the “presence of foreigners/migrants” as such, but also that of the perceptions and reactions that emerge in Moroccan society thereof – perceptions and reactions that stem from different social, ethnic, demographic, or political contexts.
Additionally, this workshop will also focus on another issue that fuels discussions in contemporary Morocco: Morocco as a country of reception and immigration and its compliance with international human rights laws. The Kingdom of Morocco has vehemently stated in its new Constitution that Morocco promotes human rights, fights discrimination and endeavors for the recognition of cultural differences.
Among the main questions that this workshop will examine are: How does the migrants’ (short-term, long-term, or permanent) presence influence the political, religious, as well as the various other dimensions that constitute Moroccan society? How does Moroccan society integrate the diversity that makes up its population, specifically through the mixture of multiple national affiliations and some forms of mobility? How do migrants in Morocco affect the perception and reception of a particular category of foreigners?
Main themes
The Workshop will put specific emphasis on the following themes:
1) New migrants and the notion of evolving “otherness”
This panel will examine the importance and attention given to foreigners and the status accorded to them in Moroccan society, focusing on the different categories of foreigners, as they appear. The Moroccan actors and institutions are called to respond to new issues concerning the reception and integration of foreigners in public policy.
These questions will be integrated into a broader analysis of how migration is reported, perceived and experienced by the foreigners/migrants themselves.
2) Morocco, a diverse society through the prism of otherness
Here, we will follow a second approach that will focus on the different dimensions of “living together” (or ”living apart”) and “diversity” in Morocco induced by the foreigners’ presence, as well as the overall development of the Moroccan society. What could be the Moroccan multicultural/cosmopolitan model?
How is the foreign presence articulated in regions, towns, suburbs, and neighborhoods? How is it influencing the production of “urban culture” and its manifold expressions? How do this “intermingled diversity” and this “cosmopolitism” effect the reformulation of Moroccan society and produce new articulations of societal perceptions?
3) Religious Mobility: Migration and religion in spiritual tourism
This panel is an attempt to explore two mobility categories which are fundamentally different but yet linked by the presence of religion. On the one hand, it is to scrutinize the importance of religious networks in migration projects or in connection with the more or less prolonged stays of foreigners in Morocco. We are thinking here, for example, of the role of Christian charities or of various Islamic Sufi brotherhood associations. On the other hand, the importance and role of Morocco as a destination of religious or spiritual pilgrimage, which is widely valued by the Moroccan authorities, will be taken into account. Within this panel, further issues will be examined such as the position of other religions, patterns of exclusion/inclusion, as well as the condition of freedom of consciousness and religious pluralism.
Even if contributions do not match perfectly with the panel contents presented above, they can still be taken into consideration.
Submission of papers
This call for papers is addressed to researchers interested in participating in the workshop that will take place on the 3rd and 4th November 2014 in Rabat/Morocco, and in the publication of its proceedings. Participants are required to submit their proposed title and a 300-word abstract in English or in French by
April 30, 2014,
to Khrouz Nadia and Lanza Nazarena at the following email addresses: (khrouz.nadia@gmail.com, nazarena.lanza@gmail.com). Please also indicate the panel in which you would like to participate.
Notifications of acceptance/rejection will be e-mailed to the applicant three weeks after the submission deadline. We will expect to receive a final paper in English or in French (of about 20,000 to 30,000 characters, including spaces) from each selected participant by September 15, 2014.
The submission of papers by this deadline is a precondition to participate in the workshop.
Deadlines and schedule
Submission of abstracts (300 words maximum in English or French): April 30, 2014
Selection and notification of participants: May 15, 2014
Deadline for paper submissions: September 15, 2014
Workshop to be held on the 3rd and 4th of November, 2014
Organizing Committee
- Nadia Khrouz, doctorante PACTE/UPMF, rattachée au Centre Jacques Berque
- Nazarena Lanza, doctorante IDEMEC/UAM, ratachée au Centre Jacques Berque
Scientific Committee
- Mehdi Alioua, sociologue, enseignant-chercheur à l'Université Internationale de Rabat/Science-Po Rabat
- Sophie Bava, Socio-anthropologue, Chargée de recherche au LPED-IRD-AMU
- Kamel Dorai, Chargé de recherche au CNRS à MIGRINTER (CNRS – Université de Poitiers)
- Jean-Noel Ferrié Directeur de recherche au CNRS, Directeur-adjoint Centre Jacques-Berque
- Mahamet Timera, directeur de l’Urmis, reponsable de l’Urmis Paris, et professeur de sociologie à l’Université Paris Diderot Paris 7 (UFR Sciences sociales)
Subjects
Places
- 35, rue Tarik Ibn Ziyad
Rabat, Kingdom of Morocco (10010)
Date(s)
- mercredi, avril 30, 2014
Keywords
- étranger, migration, cosmopolitisme, changements sociaux
Contact(s)
- Nadia Khrouz
courriel : khrouz [dot] nadia [at] gmail [dot] com - Nazarena Lanza
courriel : nazarena [dot] lanza [at] gmail [dot] com
Information source
- Nadia Khrouz
courriel : khrouz [dot] nadia [at] gmail [dot] com
To cite this announcement
« Foreigners’ Presence, Cosmopolitanism and Social Changes in Contemporary Morocco », Call for papers, Calenda, Published on mercredi, avril 09, 2014, https://calenda-formation.labocleo.org/281650
