Roberson presents paper in Tangier
George Roberson, a Ph.D. candidate in Geosciences, presented a paper on Jan. 28 at the “Voices of Tangier Conference” held in Tangier, Morocco. Titled “Ephemeral Encounters, Enduring Narratives: Visitor Voices of Tangier” the paper concerns Roberson’s research on the contributions of visitor narratives in the place-making of the city.
Roberson received a travel grant from the U.S. embassy in Rabat to support his attendance.
The conference featured 50 papers given by academics and writers from Morocco, Europe and the U.S. Conference director Khalid Amine, professor of performance studies at the University of Tetuan in Morocco, has asked Roberson to participate in formulating the call for papers for next year’s conference and to chair a paper session. Next year’s conference theme, “Visualizing Tangier,” is closely allied with Roberson’s core research.
Following the conference, Roberson remained in Tangier for several addition weeks to continue his on-site research; it was his seventh trip to Morocco since first visiting in 1991.
On the northwestern tip of Africa, Tangier is just 10 miles from Europe across the Straits of Gibraltar. At the crossroads of lands, seas and cultures, the city’s colorful and contentious history dates from the arrival of Phoenician traders in 6000 B.C. Long a diplomatic city—Morocco was the first country to recognize U.S. independence—during the mid-20th century Tangier became world famous as a free-wheeling business center and literary enclave. Today the city is undergoing rapid and dynamic change: major projects include, significant tourist and resort expansion, including Africa’s largest casino; construction of a multi-billion dollar international container port; construction of the trans-straits tunnel, which will provide rail links between the African and European continents; and highway construction that will connect, for the first time ever, North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa with a paved road.
Roberson‘s dissertation committee is chaired by Geosciences professor Dick Wilkie with members Julie Graham, Geosciences, and Elizabeth Petroff, Comparative Literature.
March 3, 2006.
E-mail story to a friend
Printer-friendly version
/more talking points/
