Moroccan Other-Archives

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This work explores the rewriting of exclusionary histories in a postcolonial context lacking organized archives. It focuses on the "years of lead," a period marked by authoritarianism and political violence in Morocco from 1956 to 1999, to analyze how memory and trauma reconstruct narratives for three marginalized groups: Berbers/Imazighen, Jews, and political prisoners. The author argues that Moroccan cultural production serves as an "other-archive," encompassing various forms of expression that recover the voices of these previously silenced communities. By integrating theoretical discussions with close readings of literary works, the book reimagines both archives and national identity in postcolonial Morocco. It illustrates how cultural creators transform the trauma inflicted by state violence into opportunities for civic engagement and historical agency, allowing for the documentation of histories often excluded from official narratives. The text is multilingual and interdisciplinary, utilizing sources in Amazigh/Berber, Arabic, Darija, and French, while drawing on memory studies, literary theory, archival studies, anthropology, and historiography. Additionally, it examines how language, gender, class, race, and geography contribute to a broader historical unsilencing that is essential for contemporary citizenship in Morocco.