Moroccan Other-Archives: History and Citizenship after State Violence

Moroccan Other-Archives explores how memories and traumas shape stories of marginalized groups in Moroccan history, using cultural production to create other-archives that recover and reimagine their voices. This multilingual and interdisciplinary book combines theoretical discussions with close readings of literary works to redefine archives and the nation in postcolonial Morocco, enabling the writing of histories about those excluded from official documentation.

Format: Hardback
Length: 272 pages
Publication date: 25 April 2023
Publisher: Fordham University Press

Moroccan Other-Archives delves into the intricate processes of how histories of exclusion and silencing are crafted and rewritten within a postcolonial context where organized and readily accessible archives are lacking. The book employs cultural production centered around the "years of lead," a turbulent period of authoritarianism and political violence that spanned from Morocco's independence in 1956 to the passing of King Hassan II in 1999, to explore the profound impact of memory and trauma on reconstructing the narratives of three historically marginalized groups in Moroccan history: the Berbers/Imazighen, Jews, and political prisoners. Through a comprehensive analysis of literary works, the book demonstrates how Moroccan cultural production has evolved into an "other-archive," a collection of textual, sonic, embodied, and visual sites that reclaim the authentic or reimagined voices of these previously suppressed and silenced constituencies of Moroccan society. By intertwining theoretical discussions with meticulous close readings, the book reimagines both archives and the nation in postcolonial Morocco. By creating other-archives, Moroccan cultural creators transform the devastating losses inflicted by state violence during the years of lead into a catalyst for civic engagement and historiographical agency, empowering the writing of histories about those Moroccans who have been excluded from official documentation and state-sanctioned histories. The book is multilingual and interdisciplinary, drawing upon primary sources in Amazigh/Berber, Arabic, Darija, and French, and incorporating insights from memory studies, literary theory, archival studies, anthropology, and historiography. In addition to shedding light on the processes of creating and functioning of other-archives, El Guabli delves into how language, gender, class, race, and geographical distribution are interwoven to shape a historical and archival unsilencing that forms the foundation of citizenship in Morocco today.

Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781531501440