Beginning Independent Research

Today was my first day of classes at CCCL, and, as my mom would say, I always love first days of school. Today was no different, especially because I began thinking about what my Independent Study Project (ISP) was going to focus on. 

Each morning, I have 3 hours of Arabic, from 8:30 to 11:45, followed by lunch with all the SIT students in the CCCL cafeteria (awesome Moroccan food). In the afternoon, I have lectures, seminars, site visits and field work assignments, depending on the day. On Mondays, I have my Migration & Transnational Identity lecture with Souad, my academic director. On Tuesdays, Souad leads the Research Methods & Ethics seminar, a course that outlines the demands and responsibilities of field research. On Wednesdays, we practice what we learn on Tuesday by completing independent assignments. Thursday and Friday consists of site visits, guest lecturers, or book discussions. 

After class today, I met with Souad to begin discussing my ISP. She began by asking me about my academic intrigues, how I became interested in studying abroad in Morocco (shokran, Spadola), and my past research and academic work. While I began our conversation without any idea of what I wanted to focus on, I left very satisfied, as I’ve decided to research the affect of the Moroccan diaspora on modernization. Souad was quite excited because this was not a topic that any past student, or any academic scholar for that matter, has aimed to tackle before. This made me very happy and I am looking forward to begin shaping a plan of action in order to begin my ISP in the coming days. I also chose this because it tied in nicely with my interests as a Political Science major at Colgate. Additionally, our three excursions to Chefchaouen and Ceuta (Spanish enclave) in the North, Amsterdam, and the traditional villages of Fqih Ben Saleh & Beni Mellal will certainly contribute positive research and experiences to my study.