Recently appointed as director of the Moroccan Studies Program at CMES, William E. Granara distinguishes the Kingdom of Morocco as a historical “crossroads, a real intermediary between North-South, East-West relations.” This concept of connectedness is reflected in his aspirations for the future of the program, which include bringing more interdisciplinary character and student involvement to Moroccan studies at Harvard.

Granara, professor of Arabic and director of undergraduate studies in the department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations (NELC), took over the directorship of the program from Susan G. Miller, who had been its founding director since 1986. Miller, formerly a senior lecturer on Islamic and Near Eastern civilizations at Harvard, is now a professor in the department of history at University of California-Davis.

Appointed to the position in July 2008, it is not yet clear whether Granara is acting as an interim director or will take on the position permanently. “Eventually it’s going to need someone full time, depending on how the program will build,” he says.

Granara will be traveling to Morocco in January to discuss next year’s funding for the program at Université Mohammed V. Until the money has been allocated, no plans are official; however, he has numerous ideas for the expansion of Moroccan and North African studies at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies and the University.

THE OUTLOOK

Over the years, the Moroccan Studies Program has aimed to create a forum for scholarly collaboration and exchange, pertaining to Morocco and also, more generally, to the Maghrib. These exchanges have taken various forms, such as interdisciplinary conferences and lecture series, and have brought together academics from Harvard, Mohammed V, and other American and Moroccan institutions.

For the upcoming year, Granara is looking to organize a number of mini-conferences, with hopes to investigate Moroccan civil institutions and Moroccan literature in its global context. “Regarding the idea of the evolution of the development of civil institutions in Morocco, we see lots of interesting things going on – the development of institutions that are beyond religious or historic [ones], the continuation of civil society,” he notes.

PLANNING AHEAD

In the bigger scheme of things, Granara pictures reaching out to other parts of the University, particularly the social sciences, in hopes of making the program more interdisciplinary than ever before. “I’d like to bring Moroccan studies out of the context of strictly CMES. I intend to build bridges with departments that may have interests in broader Moroccan and North African studies, such as anthropology, government, comp lit, and romance languages and literatures,” he says.

“One of the initial steps will be to create an advisory board so that we can engage faculty in other departments interested in Moroccan studies. We will look for joint venture opportunities … bring in people from comp lit, bring in the Francophones,” he envisions. Lamenting that there is a large gap in communication between Francophone and Arabic literature studies of North Africa, Granara sees potential for bridging it with bilingual endeavors engaging both scholars and students.

He is also interested in expanding Moroccan studies into a more comprehensive North African program. “All three countries — Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia — share a geopolitical connectedness,” Granara says.

BUILDING BRIDGES

Furthermore,  aspirations to increase student involvement are high, especially amongst undergraduates. Creating more course offerings is an integral part of this effort. In the past courses have been taught by eminent visiting professors, such as medieval historian Mohammed Kably, historian and author Ahmed Taoufiq, and literary scholar Abdelfattah Kilito. Miller also regularly taught courses, alternating annually between one focusing on the North African city and another on North African history.

“We really are in need of endowed chairs in Moroccan studies, possibly one in NELC and one in social studies, where there would be full-time faculty who work specifically on Morocco and teach courses,” Granara envisions.  

To further engage students, expanding opportunities for off-campus endeavors is another goal. Traditionally, there have been funds for students in the program to do intensive summer language study and/or research in Morocco. “One of the things I want to look at is if we can increase funding and involve the Weissman Program [a popular fund for undergraduate summer internships],” says Granara.

All are ambitious goals, especially in today’s global economy. There is uncertainty regarding the impact the world economic crisis will have on the Moroccan Studies Program, but the new director remains optimistic. Granara notes that “even if we have to sit back and wait it all out, Susan has done a good job of planting the seeds of a relationship.” Describing the “great appreciation and value for education and culture in Morocco,” as well as the “powerful academic presence” there today, he is confident that people both at Harvard and Mohammed V are interested in seeing the program continue.

For the near and distant future, aims for the Moroccan Studies Program focus on branching out to both scholars and students. But it is a two-way street, and Granara stresses the importance of students’ efforts. “We need the students. We need the students to make the bridges, and to help us build new bridges.”

Photo of William Granara courtesy Anna Kreslavskaya.