Joss Successfully Defends Dissertation
Congratulations to Khadija El Karfi Joss, who successfully defended her dissertation on May 14! Khadija will graduate this August with a PhD in French Language & Literature.
Khadija’s dissertation is titled, Excavating the Silenced History of Slavery & Race in Morocco. From her abstract:
“Excavating the Silenced History of Slavery and Race in Morocco examines how contemporary Moroccan writers and filmmakers expose anti-Black racism and challenge the widespread claim that racial discrimination is exclusively a Western phenomenon. This study traces the historical roots of anti-Black racism to pre-Islamic prejudices, the legacies of the trans-Saharan slave trade, and European colonialism. It also explores how current migration policies, racist media, and political discourses perpetuate racial stereotypes that associate Blackness with illegality, criminality, and otherness. Through close readings of novels by Tahar Ben Jelloun, Abdellah Taïa, Moulay Seddik Rabbaj, and In Koli Jean Bofane, as well as feature films by Mustapha Derkaoui and Merzak Allouache, and Abou Bakar Sidibé’s documentary Those Who Jump, this dissertation uncovers Morocco’s hidden involvement in the trans-Saharan slave trade and its ongoing impact on Black communities, particularly Black migrants, who bear the brunt of systemic racism and racial discrimination.”