Human Rights and Social Movements in a Multicultural Context

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

This seminar aims to introduce students to the major current debates on the questions of human rights and social movements in the Moroccan hybrid political context. In the aftermath of the February 20, 2011 movement (the Moroccan version of the Arab Spring; since commonly known as the February 20 Movement), Morocco has witnessed many social protest movements across the country. These movements opened the door for a fundamental rethinking of the prevalent paradigms used to understand Moroccan political social dynamics. Students look at movements in terms of large-scale, dramatic events, while also paying close attention to the social infrastructure and actions of ordinary people that sustain movements on a daily basis. Using a perspective of "human rights practice" the focus is on analyzing how groups and organizations operationalize human rights, and view human rights through action rather than simply as legal norms. The seminar engages Moroccan academics, artists, civil society activists, policy makers and students in debates on the development of a multicultural society in a political hybrid regime.