Home Institution

University of Notre Dame

Publication Date

Fall 2021

Program Name

Morocco: Multiculturalism and Human Rights

Abstract

This research project aims to explore the concept of “home” as expressed in the analogical Homeric figure of Odysseus in his journey to Ithaca. The research involves an inquiry into the meaning and reality of the concept of home in the context of both the Moroccan culture and the lives of displaced persons who find themselves located in Morocco. Engaging existing definitions of migration and a concept of homelessness expressed by Nietzsche, the theoretical research involved in this project provides a conceptual framework from which I examine the set of interviews obtained. The interviews conducted with both Moroccan nationals presently living in Morocco and migrants currently living in Morocco, are foundational to further analysis of fieldwork conducted at the local Catholic Cathedral while teaching an informal English as a second language class to a group of Sub-Saharan migrants. The central questions of the research are: what does “ithaca” consist of? How can we understand it and how does it inform the livelihood of the population of displaced persons? How can the experience of displaced persons inform a more complete understanding of the concept of home?

Disciplines

African Languages and Societies | African Studies | Migration Studies | Philosophy | Place and Environment | Social and Cultural Anthropology

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