Events
Registration required even by CU/BC ID holders. This button is for conference registration only.
Cosponsors
- The Society of Fellows and Heyman Center for the Humanities
- Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas
- Institute for Religion, Culture and Public Life
- Rare Book and Manuscript Library
- Sundial House
- Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
- Institute for Comparative Literature and Society
Organizers
- AlterMagreb
- Hispanic Institute
Contact
email address [email protected]
Historical relations between Spain and Morocco span many centuries and encompass differing attitudes, from intense rivalry and mutual suspicion to cooperation and even fraternity. This ambivalence stems from the distortions imposed by colonial imaginaries on the complex and rich relations between societies across the Strait of Gibraltar. During this conference, participants will explore new ways of representing these relations, focusing especially on how Moroccan migration in Spain has produced multiple, overlapping identities that defy any conventional or national framework of representation.
Morocco in Spain is a week-long scholarly and cultural investigation. Below is the full schedule of events. For the conference at SOF/Heyman on Monday, October 19th, please click the "Register" button at the top left of this page.
See below for details about the other events on Tuesday, October 20th (register here for Edward Said and the Archive of Orientalism) and Thursday, October 22nd. The program for the Feria Internacional del Libro is not yet available, but more details are available here. Please note that the tour of The Met has limited capacity and a separate registration is required. Indicate your interest here by October 8th.
Please email [email protected] to request disability accommodations. Advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility needs. This event will be recorded. By being present, you consent to the SOF/Heyman using such video for promotional purposes.
Program
time9:30am EDT
Coffee and Pastries
time10:15am EDT
Welcome: Carlos Cañete and Seth Kimmel
time10:30am EDT
Panel 1 - Dislocating Nations
Smoke on the Water: A Spanish-Moroccan Cultural History of Cannabis in the Strait of Gibraltar
Yasmina Aidi
Tulane University
Tamazgha Remaps Africa: Reflections on the Scholarly Potential of Amazigh Indigeneity
Brahim El Guabli
Williams College
Moderator
Pier Mattia Tommasino
Columbia University
time12:30pm EDT
Lunch
time2:00pm EDT
Panel 2 - Historical and Literary Crossovers
The Girl from Tetouan: Amina Loh and the Margins of Moroccan Culture
Eric Calderwood
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
The Almohads in/of Spain
Abigail Balbale
New York University
Moderator
Alessandra Ciucci
Columbia University
time4:00pm EDT
Coffee break
time4:15pm EDT
Concluding conversation, with Arnau Sala Sallent (SOF 2026-present)
time12:30pm - 1:30pm EDT
Book Reading at Casa Hispánica (no registration required)
Sundial House Book Reading: A Forsaken Homecoming, by Mohamed El Morabet; translated by Dixon Abreu, with Nínive Vargas de la Peña, who will also be the presentation moderator. The presentation will celebrate the publication of the English translation of Mohamed El Morabet’s Un solar abandonado (Editorial Sitara, 2018).
time1:30pm - 2:30pm EDT
Lunch in the Casa Hispánica
time3:00pm - 4:30pm EDT
Edward Said and the Archive of Orientalism at 203 Butler Library
Library visit to consult and discuss selected materials from Edward Said’s library and archive, held by Columbia’s Rare Book and Manuscript Library, along with additional materials related to Orientalism. Led by Carlos Cañete. NOTE: space is limited and registration is coming soon.
time1:00pm EDT
AlterMagreb y los nuevos imaginarios que navegan el mar entre España y Marruecos at John Jay College
Feria Internacional del Libro de la Ciudad de NY (FILNYC) at John Jay College (524 West 59th Street) | (conversation in Spanish / conversación en español) El proyecto literario AlterMagreb destaca nuevas formas de representar las relaciones entre la Península Ibérica y el Norte de África que han surgido en la narrativa reciente, especialmente en las obras de autores de origen marroquí que escriben en español. Mohamed El Morabet, Youssef El Maimouni y Nadia Hafid resultan de especial relevancia. Estas nuevas voces han explorado temas como la diáspora y la migración, la identidad, la memoria y la narración, con registros lingüísticos y genéricos mixtos. Al desafiar los modelos convencionales de representación, estos autores hacen posible navegar las identidades hispánica y marroquí de maneras enteramente originales, con nuevas olas de solapamiento. Con la participación de Mohamed El Morabet, Youssef El Maimouni y Nadia Hafid; conversación moderada por Seth Kimmel.
time3:30pm - 5:00pm EDT
The Met Museum: Guided visit to “Orientalism: Between Fact and Fantasy
Tour with the exhibition curators. Space is limited to 15 participants.