ABOUT ME |
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I am a historian of the modern Arab world specialized in decolonization. My work puts Middle Eastern and North African studies into conversation, thereby bridging the gap that too often separates these closely related fields.
My first book, Globalizing Morocco: Transnational Activism and the Postcolonial State, examines the Moroccan nationalist movement's worldwide anti-colonial campaign against the French and Spanish protectorates, and how this in turn influenced politics inside the North African kingdom after independence in 1956. This fascinating episode of Cold War history elucidates the contributions made by non-state Third World actors to the formation of the post-1945 global order. Check out my interviews with the New Books Network and Jadaliyya for an introduction. I am currently working on my second book project entitled Popular Culture and Mass Politics in Wartime North Africa, 1939-45, which analyzes how ordinary North Africans experienced World War II. It is based on archival research in all three Maghrib countries as well as oral histories, fiction literature, movies, popular music, and much more. Despite the tremendous suffering caused by the war years – ranging from authoritarian Vichy rule to widespread famines and concentration camps – this pivotal period of modern North African history remains all but absent from regional public memory as well as academic historiography. My work brings together the experiences of Muslims, Jews, and European settlers into a single narrative that shows how the war years created a shared historical experience while also accelerating the social polarization that would lead to the region's decolonization after May 1945. If you are curious about anything, please send me an email! |
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