Kaoutar Ghilani

I am currently the Abdullah Al-Mubarak Research Fellow in Middle Eastern Studies at Pembroke College at the University of Cambridge, and a Researcher at the Centre Jacques Berque in Rabat, Morocco. My research intersects history and politics, taking debates on language as an entry point to understanding the experience of decolonisation in the postcolonial Maghreb. In my current book project, I analyse discourses on the ‘failure’ of postcolonial education and decolonisation by examining the rise and fall of Arabisation –the main decolonial policy aimed at replacing French with Standard Arabic in the public space. More generally, I research discourse production, circulation, and the construction of imaginaries in the postcolonial Maghreb. I am both honoured and enthusiastic about being an active member of AGYA. 

AGYA creates the conditions for innovative research to take place, and its interdisciplinary commitment is what drove me to join this active research community.

Academic career