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Morocco: Migration Studies

Program Highlights

Morocco has always been at the crossroads of human civilizations, and not just metaphorically. Over thousands of years, successive civilizations have emigrated and settled in Morocco including the Phoenicians, Vandals, Byzantines, Carthaginians, Romans and eventually Arab tribes who moved from Arabia.

Morocco has also been an important power player in the Mediterranean basin, which has historically been a space of conflict but also trade, and ethnic, cultural and civilizational exchange and interaction.

Moments of intense mobility can be traced back to Moroccans’ migration to Andalusia, the waves of Andalusian Muslim and Jewish refugees who fled in the wake of the Spanish reconquista and inquisition, and the migratory flux to Morocco from a number of European countries during the colonial expansion. Since the 1960s, Morocco has moved from being a mere «labor frontier» country for Europe to become a favorite country of transit for sub-Saharan African migrants and is rapidly developing into a receiving country as well.

This diverse human mobility has tremendous impact on class and economy, ethnic and racial relations and on the overall tapestry of Moroccan culture and society. The Migration Studies program introduces students to the fascinating nature of today’s migratory phenomena.  Students will examine the reasons behind the urge for internal and transnational mobility, the «push and pull» factors determining international migration, and the breath-taking migrant narratives written about human mobility.

Rabat: Morocco’s Blue and White Capital

The program is based in Rabat, Morocco’s capital, and hosted by the Center for Cross Cultural Learning in a 19th century Moorish style house in the medina. The medina was founded in the 16th century by the last waves of Moorish refugees who fled from Spain after the fall of Granada. While Rabat has since expanded into a modern metropolitan city, the medina has preserved its own distinctive architecture and life pace. Both the beach and Kasbah Oudayas are a short walk from the medina.

While development projects will eventually change the valley into a major tourist hub of the city, the rhythm of life inside the medina and the Kasbah continues along its centuries-old pace. Because of its original and independent architectural structure, the medina is a captivating place to live and students soon take to its pace and lifestyle.

The language focus of the program is Moroccan Arabic or darija, Moroccans’ everyday means of interaction and an important window into Moroccan cultural and identity constructs. While darija has always been a spoken language, pressing voices are now calling for darija to be recognized as a language of literary and artistic creativity. Focusing on darija rather than Modern Standard Arabic will allow students greater cultural access and allow them to address questions of identity and migration more fully.

Students with prior study in Modern Standard Arabic will be able to build on their learning through study of the Moroccan dialect, and will find reinforcement of Modern Standard Arabic through the media. 

Guest Speakers and Program Partners

The Migration Studies program includes lectures from experts in the areas of migration and law and migration and development. Other seminar speakers include Moroccan and European policy makers, NGO activists and human rights militants.

The program also works in collaboration with a number of academic and institutional structures. In this context, the program organizes round table discussions and a virtual symposium involving Mohammed V University students and a class from an American or European college. Students also attend academic and cultural activities organized by Mohammed V University’s Research Group on Migration and Culture, SIT Study Abroad’s academic partner.