Prof. Fraunholtz’s Dialogue of Civilizations Program in Paris and Morocco (Summer I 2013 ) involved 14 student participants exploring (1) the Moroccan / Muslim experience in France (Paris), (2) the factors contributing to increased immigration across the Atlantic over the last several decades, (3) the economic development context of Morocco in the shadow of the EU (4) everyday life, culture, and Islam in both urban and rural settings in Marrakech, Berber villages of the High Atlas Mountains, and Fes.
As part of Africa and the Arab Middle East, with ties to an ancient and adaptive Berber culture, firmly integrated into the Islamic world, and linked to the French colonial past as well as the EU, Morocco offers a unique set of opportunities and experiences for international affairs students in general, and those interested in Islam, Multicultural Societies, Imperialism, and Post-Colonial Development in Africa and the Middle East in particular. Students in this Dialogue had the opportunity to (1) explore the unique aspects of the major historical eras in Morocco: Islamic, French Imperialist, Post-colonial, (2) consider the complex relationship between geography and Moroccan culture and (3) identify the promises and problems involved in modernization in the Post-Colonial African/Islamic/Arab World(s).
Check out http://www.northeastern.edu/news/2013/06/morocco-dialogue/ to learn more!
