Global Scholars Morocco Orientation Sessions

This past spring, I was selected to serve as one of two faculty on the Global Scholars trip to Morocco. While I was not especially familiar with the country’s history and culture, I saw it as an opportunity to expand my teaching in Atlantic history.

My colleague Aaron Shreve and I led six pre-trip orientation sessions on Moroccan history and culture. Preparing for these sessions was challenging, as I had never visited Morocco and had spent relatively little time studying it. To assist me, I relied heavily on longtime Harvard historian Susan Gilson Miller’s A History of Modern Morocco (Cambridge, 2013). I also consulted the Encyclopedia of Africa (Oxford, 2010) and documentaries such as Africa’s Great Civilizations (PBS, 2017) and Lost Kingdoms of Africa (BBC, 2012).

One of my favorite orientation sessions centered on the screening of Casablanca Beats (2021). The Moroccan submission for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film in 2021, the film hits a lot of very familiar “beats”; it felt like a Moroccan version of Footloose and Dead Poets Society. Yet, the change of setting made it feel fresh. It gave students an opportunity to think about transnationalism and how the experiences of Moroccan college students were both similar to and different from their own experiences at Randolph. It also helped students begin to think more about religion, region, and gender in Morocco. Made by Moroccan filmmakers, the film provided an excellent counterpoint to Hollywood’s standard depictions of Morocco. Throughout our travels (see below!), the group kept coming back to Casablanca Beats.

In addition to talking Moroccan films, history, and politics (and trip/packing logistics), we also spent a lot of time preparing students to think about how they could make the most of the trip. Role playing scenarios was a fun way to get them to do that. In our discussions afterward, I found myself frequently returning to what’s become my personal travel mantra: be present, patient, and flexible – and always look for the good.