teaching tangier a thematic unit for secondary school english
TRANSCRIPT
Elliot Jacobs
Teaching Tangier A Thematic Unit for Secondary School English
Jacobs
Table of Contents Introduction
Disclaimer (s)
How to Use This Guide
Reading List
Overview: The Four Units
The West Gazes East: Orientalism and the Exotic
“The City of the Dream:” Bowles and the Beats in Tangier
The Halqi: The Role of the Storyteller
“By Fire:” The Empire Writes Back
Unit 1: The West Looks East
Unit 2: “The City of the Dream”
Unit 3: Al-Halqi
Unit 4: “By Fire”
Calendar
Appendix: Instructional Materials
Sample Lesson, Unit 1: Reading the Visual
Sample Lesson, Unit 2: Geography of Creativity
Sample Lesson, Unit 2: Travel Narrative
Sample Lesson, Unit 3: Al-Halqa Presentation
Sample Lesson, Unit 4: Changing Morocco Poster Project
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Introduction
Thanks to a 2016 Fulbright Distinguished Award in Teaching, I had the good fortune to
travel to Tangier, Morocco, to observe schools, audit university classes, and design this
project. What follows is a curriculum for an high-school English class, including reading
lists, activities, and additional resources, centered around the city of Tangier. I chose
Tangier for this project because I’m interested in the ways that a place can inform culture
and art. Tangier is a great example of this phenomenon. An international city, Tangier has
both attracted and cultivated artists and writers who used the culture or freedom that
they found there to break rules and embrace originality. This course includes both native
Tanjawi writers and American expatriates, because both demonstrate how a place can
influence and empower artists.
Disclaimer (s)
I’ve never designed a course before without student input. I will teach this class in the
spring of 2016, and continue to refine it during that time. Some of this will work, and
some will definitely need to be changed based on student interest and input. Also, know
that this course includes some difficult material for high school students, including
sexuality and violence. I’ve tried to limit this by using excerpts where appropriate, but
certainly read the texts yourself and decide if they are appropriate for your students and
community. I am teaching this class for 11th- and 12th-grade students only.
How to Use This Guide
If you’re interested in using some or all of this curriculum, have at it! It’s organized by the
overall reading list, then themed unit plans, then a weekly schedule. Hopefully, this will
allow you to pick and choose which parts of the course you’d like to use, so that it could
fit into another class, such as Multicultural Literature or Beat Literature. Because a lesson
plan for everything would be daunting for me, and overkill for another professional
educator, I’ve included one fully-fleshed out activity for each unit that I think captures the
spirit of the learning objectives, along with general themes, texts, and guiding questions
for each unit. I welcome feedback or additional ideas: [email protected].
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Reading List
Core Texts
The Sheltering Sky, Paul Bowles
Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits, Laila Lalami
Naked Lunch (excerpts), William S. Burroughs
“Everything is Nice,” Jane Bowles
Literary Excerpts
“A Friend of the World,” Mrabet
“A Distant Episode,” Paul Bowles
Sun, Sand and Stars, Antoine De Saint Exupery
Desolation Angels, Jack Kerouac
For Bread Alone, Mohammed Choukri
Camino Real, Tennessee Williams
“A Boy to be Sacrificed,” Abdellah Taia
“By Fire”, Tahar Ben Jelloun
The Blinding Absence of Light, Tahar Ben Jelloun
In Arabian Nights, Tahir Shah
Primary Sources (relevant excerpts)
The Travels of Ibn Battutah, Ibn Battutah, Ed. Tim Mackintosh-Smith
The Diary of Samuel Pepys, Samuel Pepys
Innocents Abroad, Mark Twain
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The Land of an African Sultan, Walter Harris
Journey Into Barbary: Travels Across Morocco, Wyndham Lewis
The Tangier Diaries, John Hopkins
Critical Theory and Scholarship
“Orientalism,” Edward Said
The Odyssey of Ibn Battuta, David Waines
Tangier: City of the Dream, Iain Finlayson
The Geography of Genius: A Search for the World’s Most Creative Places, Eric Weiner
Media
Al-Halqa: In the Storyteller’s Circle, Taskovski Films
“Music of Morocco,” curated by Paul Bowles
The Sheltering Sky (film), directed by Bernardo Bertolucci
Matisse in Morocco: Paintings and Drawings 1912-1913
Delacroix in Morocco
Eric Weiner on the Leonard Lopate show, WNYC
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Overview: The Four Units
The West Gazes East: Orientalism and the Exotic
Guiding Question: Where is Tangier in the imagination of the West?
After a brief foray into the history and location of Tangier, we begin by examining the
perception of Tangier from early western travelers, including Samuel Pepys, Walter
Harris, and Mark Twain. In doing so, we introduce Edward Said’s concept of orientalism
as a lens to analyze western conceptions of Morocco and Tangier. Ibn Battuta provides a
counterpoint as a Tanjawi traveling the ancient world. Sun, Sand and Stars, along with
artwork by McBey, Matisse, and Delacroix, show the ways that romanticism and
orientalism are closely tied to colonial attitudes.
“The City of the Dream:” Bowles and the Beats in Tangier
Guiding Question: How did Tangier inform the work of the Beats?
During the 1950’s, the Beat Generation took Tangier by storm. What drew them to the
city, and what did they find there? By looking at Paul Bowles’ The Sheltering Sky, along with
excerpts of William Burroughs Naked Lunch, we analyze the ways that Tangier provided
the freedom that the Beat Generation sought, and how this complemented and
complicated the orientalism of previous western writers. This unit will also include
analysis of the architecture and art of the city, using the text The Geography of Genius as a
guide for understanding how physical space can cause a flourishing of creativity and the
arts.
The Halqi: The Role of the Storyteller
Guiding Question: What is the role of oral literature in the culture of Tangier?
Darija, a dialect of standard Arabic, is a spoken language and a long-standing tradition of
storytelling exists in Morocco and throughout the Arab World. In Morocco, it’s called
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Al-Halqa. In this unit, students will understand the function of storytelling in Moroccan
society, which is at once historical, religious, and for entertainment. Using excerpts of In
Arabian Nights, and the film Al-Halqa: In the Storyteller’s Circle, students will explore
storytelling traditions in Morocco. The unit culminates with students selecting, practicing,
and performing a story from One Thousand and One Nights, and writing a meta-analysis
of the themes and message of the story they selected.
“By Fire:” The Empire Writes Back
Guiding Question: What are some native Tanjawi responses to colonialism? What impact
will globalization and the Arab Spring have on literatures of Tangier?
This unit looks at Tanjawi writings from 1950 to the present. It includes elements of the
oral tradition, such as Mrabet and Layachi, as well as Moroccans writing in French, such
Tahar Ben Jelloun and Abdellah Taie. The unit examines globalization and migration
through Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits, by Laila Lalami, and the impact of the Arab
Spring through Tahar Ben Jelloun’s, “By Fire.”
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Unit 1: The West Gazes East
Guiding Question: Where is Tangier in the imagination of the West?
Texts:
“Orientalism,” Edward Said, 1977
The Diary of Samuel Pepys, Samuel Pepys
Journey Into Barbary: Travels Across Morocco, Wyndham Lewis
Sun, Sand and Stars, Antoine De Saint Exupery
Innocents Abroad, Mark Twain
The Land of an African Sultan, Walter Harris
Journey Into Barbary: Travels Across Morocco, Wyndham Lewis
Matisse in Morocco: Paintings and Drawings 1912-1913
Delacroix in Morocco
Objectives: In this unit, students will:
● Learn about early encounters with Morocco from primary-source accounts
● Understand the term orientalism
● Analyze how orientalism applies to western depictions of Morocco in art and
literature
Approximate Length: 12 class hours
Instructional Activities:
Movement 1: Personal conceptions of Morocco and the Arab World.
Activities: Freewriting, group discussion, think-pair-share, online research
Texts: N/A
Movement 2: West meets East--a survey of historical and artistic encounters in Tangier.
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Activities: “Reading the Visual,” close reading, group discussion, jigsaw passages,
powerpoint lecture
Texts: The Diary of Samuel Pepys (1662), Journey Into Barbary (Chapter 1), The Land
of the African Sultan (“Tangier”), Innocents Abroad (Chapter 9)
Movement 3: Introducing Orientalism
Activities: Lecture, close read
Texts: Orientalism (1977), Edward Said
Movement 4: Applying orientalism as a critical lens*
Activities: Reading the Visual
Texts: Paintings by Lewis, Delacroix, Matisse
Movement 5: Sun, Sand and Stars--orientalism as a literary colonialism
Activities: close reading, free-writing, quote log
Texts: Sun, Sand and Stars (Chapters 1-5)
Assessments:
● Mini-lit-crit essay: In what ways can we observe Edward Said’s term Orientalism in
the first half of Sun, Sand and Stars?
● Short Exam, including key terms ethnocentrism, cultural relativism, appropriation,
stereotypes, racism, globalization, imperialism
Notes:
The purpose of this unit is to engage learners in examining their own
preconceptions about Morocco and the Arab World in general, at the same time orienting
students to the pertinent history of Tangier as an international city. Through the use of
primary source documents, students can see how depictions of Morocco essentialize the
society and place, rather than allowing for nuance. It’s important to note that, while we
use these texts in order to examine our own biases, we can also find value in the
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language and experience of the authors in their discovery and experience of Tangier.
Ultimately, all cultural projects must begin with the personal, and so we encourage
students to examine their own biases and preconceived notions before encountering
different points of view. Critical theory underpins this unit, and allows for lessons like the
“Reading the Visual” lesson that I suggest below.
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Unit 2: “The City of the Dream”
Guiding Question: How did Tangier inform the work of the Beats?
Texts:
The Sheltering Sky
“Everything is Nice,” Jane Bowles
Naked Lunch Excerpts
● and start west ● Close Read: pg. 38, “...Rock and Roll adolescent hoodlums storm the
street…” ● joselito ● Deposition: Testimony Concerning A Sickness
“Music of Morocco,” curated by Paul Bowles
The Sheltering Sky (film), directed by Bernardo Bertolucci
Tangier: City of the Dream
The Tangier Diaries, John Hopkins
“A Distant Episode,” Paul Bowles
Desolation Angels, Jack Kerouac
Camino Real, Tennessee Williams
The Geography of Genius, Eric Weiner
Objectives: In this unit, students will:
● Understand the history of the Beat Movement in 20th-century literature
● Connect Beat themes of romanticism, spiritual questing, and rejection of
materialism to orientalism and preconceived notions of Morocco
● Define for themselves “tourist” and “traveler” in the context of Paul Bowles’ The
Sheltering Sky
● Connect the history, culture and geography of Tangier to 20th century American
literature.
● Synthesize elements of Beat literature into creative writing
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Approximate Length: 20 class hours
Instructional Activities:
Movement 1: Paul Bowles as the bridge between romanticism and nihilism.
Activities: Reading, discussion questions, quiz, mapping activity, primary source
analysis
Texts: The Sheltering Sky
Movement 2: Paul and Jane Bowles in Tangier
Activities: Research, Jigsaw, free-writing, quote log
Texts: “Everything is Nice” & “A Distant Episode”
Movement 3: The Beats Arrive--Burroughs and Kerouac in Tangier
Activities: Class discussion, lecture, close read, think-pair-share
Texts: Naked Lunch (excerpts) & Desolation Angels (excerpts), “William Burroughs
and the Beats in Tangier” (from Tangier: The City of the Dream, 180-234)
Movement 4: Tangier as an Artistic Hub*
Activities: Mapping activity, research project on artistic flourishing,
Texts: The Tangier Diaries (selections), Camino Real (Petit Socco), The Geography of
Genius (1-13)
Movement 5: Travel Narrative*
Activities: Discussion, research writing
Texts: N/A
Assessments:
● Test on The Sheltering Sky
● Geography of Genius Tangier analysis
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● Travel Narrative
Notes:
The purpose of this unit is to transition from our study of the western “gaze” on
Tangier towards an understanding of how Tangier inspired American expatriate authors
of the 1950’s and 1960’s, including Paul Bowles, Tennessee Williams and William S.
Burroughs. To do this, I start with Bowles, because his text is a kind of bridge between
the romanticism of previous writers, and the experimentation and rejection of traditional
values that presages the Beat movement. This is exemplified, of course, by Burroughs,
who’s a genius but a really unpleasant writer to read. His books are terrifying,
challenging, sometimes disgusting. It’s satire, but it’s really worth keeping a weather eye
on your community before assigning any of it. I’ve tried to select passages that capture
his ability to critique American society, but it’s not the kind of read where you might have
kids read it for homework. Instead, it demands hands-on, in-classroom support.
From Burroughs, we seek to understand how Tangier itself played a role in this
literary resurgence. Using photos, primary source documentation, and historical data, we
seek to determine the ideal “ingredients” for the arts to flourish in a city. The unit
culminates with students creating their own travel narratives, and, in so doing, striving to
define for themselves the difference between a “tourist” and a “traveler.”
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Unit 3: Al-Halqi
Guiding Question: What is the role of oral literature in the culture of Morocco?
Texts:
Al-Halqa: In the Storyteller’s Circle, Taskovski Films
In Arabian Nights, Tahir Shah
One Thousand and One Nights
Objectives: In this unit, students will:
● Understand the importance of oral literature in Moroccan culture
● Engage with the classic text One Thousand and One Nights
● Select and perform a story
● Analyse the meaning, symbols, and themes in their chosen story
Approximate Length: 10 classroom hours
Instructional Activities:
Movement 1: Understanding the importance of storytelling in Moroccan culture
Activities: reading, viewing, discussion, lecture
Texts: In Arabian Nights, (1-20, 144-165), Al-Halqa: In the Storyteller’s Circle
Movement 2: Al-Halqa Presentation*
Activities: research, writing, performing
Texts: N/A
Assessments:
● Al-Halqa Performance
● Reflection of story themes and relevance to students life in short essay
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Notes:
This unit is designed to teach students about the importance of oral literature in
Morocco. Through the film Al-Halqa: In the Storyteller’s Circle and excerpts from Moroccan
writer Tahir Shah’s In Arabian Nights, students will grasp the varied uses of story in
Moroccan culture--both religious, historical and for entertainment. After laying this
groundwork, the fun begins, as students are encouraged to select, rehearse, and perform
a story of their choosing from One Thousand and One Nights. For some students, this will
be simply fun, but for most, telling a story in front of their peers will take them outside
their comfort zone for sure, so allowing adequate time to prepare, as well as plenty of
time to watch and debrief these performances, seems key. I know that this is a skill that is
undervalued in American high schools--public speaking in general, storytelling in
particular--so I think that this unit will be powerful for the students. The unit concludes
with an essay which reflects on the experience of storytelling, as well relating themes of
the story to the student’s own life.
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Unit 4: “By Fire”
Guiding Question: What are some native Tanjawi responses to colonialism? What impact
will globalization and the Arab Spring have on literatures of Tangier?
Texts:
Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits, Laila Lalami
“Music of Morocco,” curated by Paul Bowles
“A Friend of the World,” Mrabet
For Bread Alone, Mohammed Choukri
“A Boy to be Sacrificed,” Abdellah Taia
“By Fire”, Tahar Ben Jelloun
The Blinding Absence of Light, Tahar Ben Jelloun
Objectives: In this unit, students will:
● Survey Moroccan writers in translation
● Note the influence of globalization on Moroccan culture
● Show an awareness of gender and sexuality in Moroccan society
● Analyse literature which confronts the importance of the Arab Spring
Approximate Length: 14 class hours
Instructional Activities:
Movement 1: Examining literatures of Tangier concurrent with Beat Movement, including
Choukri & Mrabet
Activities: Reading, writing, listening, group discussion, jigsaw
Texts: “A Friend of the World” & For Bread Alone (1-37, 100-130)
Movement 2: Globalization and Modernity through Lalami’s Hope and Other Dangerous
Pursuits
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Activities: Reading, discussion, lecture, research, close read
Texts: Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits, Laila Lalami
Movement 3: Changes in Morocco--women’s rights, gay rights, and the Arab Spring*
Activities: Poster project, readings, lecture, discussion
Texts: “By Fire,” “A Boy to be Sacrificed”
Assessments:
● Changing face of Morocco Poster Project
● Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits Test
Notes:
The purpose of this unit is to introduce students to Tanjawi voices and issues
confronting Tangier and the Arab world. We begin with Mrabet and Choukri, both of
whom were “discovered” by Bowles, but who, in reality, were just part of a long-standing
tradition of storytellers. Through the short stories and excerpts from For Bread Alone, we
see another perspective on the city and its inhabitants. From there, we move to two
topics which are extremely important in Morocco: globalization and the Arab Spring. Laila
Lalami’s Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits shows the way that the past and future are
inextricably linked in a globalized world. Similarly, Tahar Ben Jelloun’s “By Fire” will give
students a sense of the upheaval and possibility created by the Arab Spring. Students will
finish this unit by creating and presenting posters which detail a challenge that faces
Morocco as we move forward.
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Calendar
Week Unit Movement
Content
1 West Gazes East 1, 2, 3 Introduction, early encounters, orientalism
2 West Gazes East 4, 5 Reading the visual, Sun, Sand & Stars, mini-lit crit due early next week
3 West Gazes East, City of the Dream
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Wrap up with Sun, Sand & Stars, begin The Sheltering Sky
4 City of the Dream 1 The Sheltering Sky
5 City of the Dream 1, 2 The Sheltering Sky (finish), Preview film, TSS Test, Paul & Jane Bowles short stories
6 City of the Dream 3, 4 Beats in Tangier, Tangier: City of the Dream excerpt, Naked Lunch excerpts, Desolation Angels excerpts
7 City of the Dream 4 Tangier as Artistic Hub: Geography of Genius, Geography of Creativity Activity
8 City of the Dream 5 Travel Narrative Due
9 Al-Halqi 1, 2 Introduction: The importance of oral literature. Preview film Al-Halqi: In the Storyteller’s Circle, begin Al-Halqi project
10 Al-Halqi 2 Rehearse & Perform story in Al-Halqi
11 “By Fire” 1 For Bread Alone and “A Friend of the World”, the perils of translation
12 “By Fire” 2 Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits
13 “By Fire” 2 Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits
14 “By Fire” 2, 3 Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits Test early in week, “By Fire” and “A Boy to Be Sacrificed”
15 “By Fire” 3 Poster Project & Wrap Up
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Appendix: Instructional Materials
Sample Lesson, Unit 1: Reading the Visual
Class Objectives:
● Understand and apply orientalism
● Practice “reading the visual”
● Identify and learn European artists who spent significant time in Tangier
Connection to Course Goals: This lesson connects to course goals because the unit is all
about the way that the west tends to perceive the Arab world, and Morocco in particular.
By examining depictions of Morocco by European painters, we can see this concept
clearly. At the same time, this unit will also expose students to some of the key visual
artists who made Tangier home and influenced its reputation as an artistic haven.
Anticipatory Set: For the anticipatory set, project an image of Delacroix’s “Fanatics of
Tangier.” For this image, ask students to share their initial impressions, both of the place
and the people that they see. Do not identify either for the students.
Introduction: After compiling a list of adjectives and phrases on the board, identify
Delacroix, and then ask them to look again at the image, keeping in mind Edward Said’s
term Orientalism. Ask them, what, in turn, the image might reveal about the painter? In
what ways are all artistic statements mediated by both the artist and the audience?
Procedures: After completing this activity, break students up into 6 groups, each of which
will have a different image:
“View of Tangier with Two Seated Arabs,” Delacroix, 1852 “Door in the Kasbah,” Matisse, 1912 “Fantasia Arabe,” Delacroix, 1833 “The Moroccans,” Matisse, 1915 “Jewish Wedding in Morocco,” Delacroix, 1839 “Zohra,” James McBey, 1952
Students will work together to answer the following questions:
1. What “mood” does your image invoke?
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2. Who does the image “privilege”? Who has the power? Who is “other?”
3. What does the image reveal about its subjects?
4. What does the image reveal about its author?
5. What is the message or thesis of your image?
After answering these questions in small groups, students will then present their finding
to the whole class.
Conclusion: Images always have an agenda. By what is emphasized or omitted, we can
tell a lot about both the image and it’s creator. Using Edward Said’s term orientalism, we
have examined images of Morocco to learn more about European conceptions of Tangier
and also famous European painters who traveled to Tangier in pursuit of the exotic.
Ticket Out the Door: The ticket out the door is a list of 5 adjectives that you believe typify
European responses to Moroccan society, landscapes and culture.
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Sample Lesson, Unit 2: Geography of Creativity
Class Objectives:
● Identify geographic and cultural features that make Tangier an international,
artistic city
● Explore primary source documents and maps
● Practice “Reading the Visual”
Connection to Course Goals: This lesson is designed to give students a sense of the
character and physical space of Tangier, by examining a variety of photographs, primary
source documents, and sounds. These resources will boost student engagement and give
students a sense of place that will support their learning.
Anticipatory Set: Project photo of Jack Kerouac on the beach in Tangier in 1958. Have
students freewrite about the image, with the prompt: “Who is this man? What is he doing
in Tangier?”
Introduction: Ask students to imagine a place that’s most conducive to creativity and
artistic expression. In groups of 2-3, and using butcher paper, ask students to draw the
elements of this city on the map--an imagined, ideal city or space for creativity. Student
should label the city with both tangible (public spaces) and intangible (free time)
attributes of the ideal city for creativity practices. After completing this city, students can
share with each other. Following this assignment, students should listen to Eric Weiner
on the Leonard Lopate Show discussing his book. After reading the introduction to the
book, students can use the elements that he highlights as the framework for looking at
Tangier, by reading both the introduction (1-12) and epilogue (321-327). Divide students
up into groups, and then each group is responsible for another chapter.
Procedures: After students have a solid grasp of the background of what makes an
artistic locate and categorize the elements that have contributed to Tangier as an
international city and artistic hub. Essentially, students will be asked to find elements of
an image or map that shows why Tangier proved to be fertile ground for artists.
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1. Share album of images of Tangier, including maps, historical photographs, and
primary-source newspaper clippings. (I’ve included the ones that I use below, but
you should feel free to curate your own collection)
2. After perusing the album (this can be displayed by printing and posting
throughout the classroom to create a “Tangier Space” in the room), each group
should select three artifacts that they believe support the chapter that they’ve
been tasked with.
3. After selecting the artifacts that they plan to use, students should prepare a
presentation or video which summarizes the “city” that they’ve been tasked with
from Eric Weiner’s book, and relates that characteristic to the history of Tangier
through their primary source document. These presentations or videos might
spend 5 minutes in introduction, and then 2-3 minutes per artifact. Referencing
the lesson about “reading the visual” will help students to engage more deeply in
the images in a non-superficial way.
4. After the presentation, you can also spend one class period on an AP-English style
essay, where students are given 4-5 new artifacts, and asked to write on the
following prompt:
Eric Weiner wants to include one more chapter in his book “The Geography of
Genius,” which highlights the city of Tangier. The catch is that he doesn’t have
the time to write and research it! In a thoughtful, well-presented letter, write to
him to suggest what you believe the chapter title for Tangier should be. Your
letter should reference 3 of the following 5 artifacts in making a case for WHY
you think Tangier experienced a literary renaissance.
Conclusion: Students can be assessed on both their presentation or essay. The challenge
of this unit is to encourage students to consider what effect that landscape, geography
and culture have on creativity, and find ways to articulate it thoughtfully. In doing so,
students will need to explore the history of Tangier as well as use their own creativity to
relate images and primary source documents as historical analysis.
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Resources: I’m including a selection of the artifacts that I use. I will also create a gallery of
images that others could use linked to HERE.
Artifact #1
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Artifact #2
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Artifact #3
Artifact #4
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Artifact #5
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Artifact #6
Artifact #7
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Artifact #8
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Artifact #9
Artifact #10
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Sample Lesson, Unit 2: Travel Narrative
Class Objectives:
● Creatively depict a place or journey
● Use descriptive language effectively
● Answer the question, “What is the difference between the traveler and the
tourist?”
Connection to Course Goals: This lesson connects with course goals by asking students to
reflect on the concepts that we’ve encountered in The Sheltering Sky, such as nihilism,
loneliness, and the exotic. In doing so, students are asked to compose their own travel
narratives. These narratives will effectively describe a place without judgement. In
conclusion, students will be asked to make their own distinctions between the “traveler”
and the “tourist.”
Anticipatory Set: Ask students to reflect on the following quote from The Sheltering Sky:
“[A]nother important difference between tourist and traveler is that the former
accepts his own civilization without question; not so the traveler, who compares it
with the others, and rejects those elements he finds not to his liking.” (Bowles 47)
Do you agree? Why or why not? Think-pair-share.
Introduction: Introduce assignment
Procedures: The process for this assignment involves students:
1. Select or take a journey that you found meaningful, and which brought you into
contact with a place, group of people, or cultural that you found unfamiliar. Think
small! This doesn’t need to be a voyage to North Africa.
2. After selecting a journey, find ways to use descriptive language to draw the reader
into the experience. How did it feel? Why? Use descriptive language, including
simile and metaphor. However, try to represent your experience in a way that’s
free of judgment.
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3. Finally, in a brief reflective paragraph, please return to Paul Bowles’ statement
about the different between the traveler and the tourist. Write your own
definition. What separates the traveler from the tourist?
Conclusion: As they say in Hamlet, “There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” Only by encountering other cultures with open
eyes and hearts, and free of judgement, can we begin to examine our own culture and
make accurate discernments about the world. This activity is designed to encourage
students to view culture with the anthropologist's’ eye.
Ticket Out the Door: Students should have a plan for the journey or voyage that they plan
to write about, along with a tentative outline.
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Sample Lesson, Unit 3: Al-Halqa Presentation
Class Objectives:
● Select and Perform a story from One Thousand and One Nights
● Demonstrate an understanding of dramaturgy, audience and voice
● Utilize storytelling techniques to make the story vivid for the audience.
Connection to Course Goals: This connects with course goals because it allows students
to tap into the tradition of oral storytelling in Morocco and throughout the world.
Through stories, we share wisdom, history, and entertain our audience. By making
students a part of that tradition, they have a more vivid understanding of what makes
effective storytelling and greater empathy and understanding.
Anticipatory Set: Tell a story! Make it a good one. Use different techniques that enhance
audience engagement (sound effects, pausing, changes in volume and eye contact). If you
aren’t much of a storyteller, you can use resources from the National Storytelling
Network or find a play a story from The Moth.
Introduction: Ask students what made that story compelling--have them create a list in
their think-pair-share. After doing so, tell students that they are going to be telling a story
that they find in A Thousand and One Nights
Procedures: Over the course of the week, students will select, rehearse, and perform a
story from A Thousand and One Nights. To do so, students will be responsible for selecting,
memorizing, and performing the story, so they should take care in the story that they
select. They’re already familiar with the A Thousand and One Nights from Tahir Shah’s
book, so the focus for this class is selecting an appropriate story.
Conclusion: At the end of class, students should have an understanding of what’s
expected in this project, including due dates, and assessment criteria.
Ticket Out the Door: Students should write on a piece of paper one concrete
storytelling technique that they plan to practice and implement in their story.
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Sample Lesson, Unit 4: Changing Morocco Poster Project Assignment
Project Invitation In reading literatures of North Africa this term, we get the sense that Morocco can be
many different things to different people. It’s a literary mecca, a sleazy interzone, a romanticized colony, or just “home.” As we’ve seen this unit, a rapidly changing world has greatly impacted Tangier. For this project, I challenge you to unearth contemporary examples of these changes, drawn from the news or current events. Logistics
For this project, you will work with a group in order to define, illustrate, and then connect your topic with current events. Some themes:
● Migration ● Fundamentalism ● Democracy ● Women’s Rights ● Art and Culture
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Once your group has selected your topic, work together to compose a meaningful definition of the concept. Then comes the fun part! Put together a beautiful, meaningful, and carefully composed poster which includes:
● Your definition ● 5 salient passages or quotes from our readings this term ● Connections to 23 recent news stories, magazine pieces, or headlines ● Engaging visuals
Be prepared to present your project and give a clear indication of how your concept fits
with the current events which you've selected. Due Date: Assessment Your project will be assessed based on your creativity, attention to quality, and clarity and success in connecting your events to the texts. See the rubric below for specifics.
Thoroughness. Starting with your definition and moving through the parts of your project, you demonstrate and articulate a thorough understanding of the central concept, of the text, and of the current event.
/10
Clarity. In your writing and through your visuals, you make it easy for your audience to follow and understand your poster.
/10
Visual quality. Your poster is well and thoughtfully organized, it is easy to understand, compelling to look at, and was created with care.
/10
Creativity. Your idea is creative!
/10
Presentation. All members of the group participated in the presentation, and the presentation was wellorganized, clear, and interesting.
/10
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