المنتدى

Rabat, Morocco: May 23-25, 2024

Conference of the Center for Maghrib Studies at Arizona State University and the “Migrations. Mobilities, Cosmopolitanism” Chair at International University of Rabat (UIR), Morocco (Organized by Mehdi Alioua and Chouki El Hamel)

Deadline for papers: December 1, 2023.

The Maghrib as a Social and Cultural Crossroads: Historicizing Maghribi Diversity and Identity

The Maghrib has a very long history of migration, colonization, settlement, and cultural synthesis. As part of the Mediterranean, the region experienced waves of immigrants – although researchers have rarely considered them as such – including the Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Jews, Vandals, Arabs, Andalusians, French and Italians. As part of Africa, the Maghrib was also linked to the rest of the continent through the trans-Saharan trade, which brought millions of West Africans to the Maghrib, mainly as captives. These West Africans included Mandé, Fulbé, Wolof, Songhay, Dogon, Hausa, and others. What are the surviving legacies of these waves of immigration? Do the peoples of the Maghrib see themselves as ethnically diverse? If so, what are the main components of that diversity?

This conference will examine the long demographic and cultural history of the Maghrib. It will explore the processes through which diverse peoples forged related cultural and social identities, and the various meanings of those identities at different times and places. We define the Maghrib broadly, including all the North African countries West of Egypt, specifically Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Mauritania, but also much of the Sahara and historic Andalusia.

Please submit paper abstracts (300 words) and academic bio (100 words) to selection committee at: cms.conference2023@gmail.com. Abstracts should state the paper’s argument and its evidentiary basis. For all inquiries, please email hel01@asu.edu.