Tangier: Guides and Gateways

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Cover by Robert McDonald, Tangier: The Golden Gateway (Tangier: Mediterranean American Press, 1952). Collection TALIM Research Library.

The following is a guest post by Emma Chubb, who made a presentation on her subject to a group of American, European, and Moroccan researchers and interested members of the public at TALIM on June 17.  Emma Chubb is a doctoral candidate in art history at Northwestern University (Evanston, Illinois USA) and is a 2013-14 American Institute for Maghrib Studies (AIMS) fellow in Morocco.

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Guides and Gateways

I spent much of last fall reading through TALIM’s collection of guidebooks and tourism magazines published between the 1940s and 1970s. Perhaps it was because I too was a newcomer to Tangier, but these guides fascinated me. Some folded out like maps, mixing quirky tips for the European or American traveler to Tangier with black-and-white photographs and brightly colored illustrations.

Read moreTangier: Guides and Gateways


Morocco & American Studies

At the place where Moroccan-American relations began, the Tangier American Legation, scholars from Morocco, the US, and Europe ponder creating an association on American Studies in Morocco.


They Were Promised the Sea

The Moroccan Jewish diaspora’s longing for their ancestral home is matched by Moroccans’ nostalgia for their former neighbors.


Libana Lights Up Tarab Tanger

American world music ensemble Libana – seven women from Boston – bring their joyous sound to Tarab Tanger, Tangier’s annual festival of world traditional music.


Moroccans Got Rhythm?

Modern dance in Morocco must overcome cultural taboos, but it doesn’t stop young Moroccans from competing in “break dance battles” and “Arabs Got Talent,” according to AIMS researcher Karima Abidine.


World Heritage Day: Morocco’s Rural Treasures

American architect Cloe Erickson works to save Morocco’s vanishing rural heritage, often hidden in the high valleys of the Atlas Mountains.


Etched in Memory: Historic Glass Negatives

An invaluable collection of late 19th and early 20th century glass negatives was partially scanned at the Tangier American Legation.


Berber Societies: AIMS Conference 2012 at TALIM

After three days of conferencing, the Legation's fountains and birds are again audible in the relative calm of the medina.  Not that we're complaining: a better group of participants couldn't be found.  We have just hosted an illustrious group of experts on Berber Societies, the theme of this year's AIMS – American Institute for Maghrib … Read more Berber Societies: AIMS Conference 2012 at TALIM


Domesticating Foreign Ads or Translating the Maghreb

   Foreignization, domestication, transmutation… Karima Bouziane has mastered the vocabulary of her topic. At today's presentation at TALIM, the audience caught on immediately to this specialized world of semiotics, which has to do with the study of signs and communication. The capacity audience (09:00 on a Friday morning – a major feat!) was composed largely … Read more Domesticating Foreign Ads or Translating the Maghreb


2011 to 2012: Another TALIM Transition

To our usual languages in the little "card" above, we wanted to add a New Year's greeting in Tamazight, also known as Amazigh or Berber.  But we couldn't find it in tifinagh, the Berber alphabet. The world's most complete list of holiday greetings has just included (with our prompting) an entry for the language spoken … Read more 2011 to 2012: Another TALIM Transition