Between the ‘Goddess’ and the ‘Hegemon’

Roads Taken and not Taken by Moroccan English Studies

Abstract

This presentation is framed by two metaphors that may look dissonant. They both bring together two fields of knowledge that may appear diametrically opposite or mutually exclusive. These are the cosmic field of galaxies and the epistemic field of English Studies. The first consists of galaxies, planets, stars, multi-verses, space probes, and space-telescopes that travel billions of miles into boundless space to collect scientific knowledge, and then bring it back to earth. The second, maybe not as boundless, but as vast, is the epistemic space of English Studies that consists – in the Moroccan context – of various areas of knowledge opened up for/by departments of English, the university, and the emissaries who are sent to seek Englishized knowledge in UK, US, and other countries, and return home to transmit that knowledge in turn. These emissaries specialize in different domains of study that are attached to English Studies.  In both universes, the types of knowledge sought, discovered, collected and brought back home are countless.  Most important in this parallelism is the radical impact that both have on the minds and consciousness of their recipients, impacts that get re-transmitted down the road through disciples and students.  Through the knowledge transmitted, the paths followed in choosing its subjects, and the various reforms of its programs, Moroccan English Studies has followed some roads and missed more important others; choices that have heavily impacted its historical evolution and often disoriented its reforms.