Tunisia: Emerging Identities in North Africa

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"The SIT Tunisia program has been an incredible experience for me, academically as well as personally. The design of the program allows students to overcome the academic distance between the student and the local culture that traditionally exists in many study abroad programs, and forces you to fully immerse yourself. But perhaps what makes this program so unique and rewarding is the people; both the extraordinary staff members and the welcoming and generous host families."

-- Colleen McNamara, Spring 2009 student, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill

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Examine contemporary social movements and identity formation in Tunisia and North Africa.

As emerging economies, Tunisia and its neighbors are in a transitional phase, and while they share much in common—particularly with respect to large populations of youth—each country is addressing current political, economic, and cultural challenges in distinct ways.  Students consider how factors such as western-style capitalism, Maghreb relations in North Africa, local and national politics, and engagement with Europe are intersecting to shape identity in states across the region.

Outstanding learning opportunities in Tunis and beyond
SIT students are able to take full advantage of the unique learning opportunities offered in the capital of Tunis.  They attend lectures by academics from Tunis University and interact with local artists, experts from civil society, and activists from local NGOs and community organizations. 

Lectures include:

• The state and Islam
• The place of sharia in Tunisian legislation
• Family and kinship structure
• Relations between Islam and Jihad
• Youth unemployment and emigration
• Impact of tourism on popular culture
• Media, information and communication technology (ICT), and identity formation
• Raï and hip hop in youth culture
• Religion, language, and identity
• Bilingualism and linguistic code-switching

Examining social movements shaping North Africa
The program challenges students to evaluate the impacts of globalization on Tunisian and other North African societies, and students consider the dynamics and expansion of youth, women, Islamist, and human rights movements. Topics for consideration in this context include:

• Islamist movements in North Africa
• Rise of the FIS (Front Islamique de Salut) in Algeria
• Feminist movements in Tunisia and Morocco
• Human rights movements across North Africa
• Identity and social change in Libya
• Ethnicity and national identity in the Maghreb

Focus on youth
The program devotes particular attention to youth identity. Students consider issues of relevance to the region's youth including unemployment, Islam, emigration, political participation, and hip-hop culture. Group discussions with Tunisian young adults provide SIT students new and firsthand perspectives on youth culture and identity formation. The program includes field visits to youth clubs, NGOs, radio and TV stations targeting youth audiences, and higher education institutes devoted to training "youth cultural instructors". 

Exploring mass media and culture 
The program explores the proliferation of media outlets in the region, especially through satellite television, and the effects and impacts of new technologies on the imagined Arab identity. The program examines how phenomena such as Al-Jazeera and the Internet have given shape to a new understanding of national identity in the Arab World. 

Immersion in a multilingual environment
Students in the SIT Tunisia program have the option to study either Tunisian Colloquial Arabic or Modern Standard Arabic. The Tunisian Arabic course emphasizes daily communication, with reinforcement in the program's seven-week homestay and in field visits throughout Tunisia.  Additionally, students with an interest or background in French find abundant opportunity for French language practice as French plays an important role in Tunisian society especially in the fields of education, media, and business.