About
Rachid Benharrousse is a Doctoral Candidate at Mohammed V University in Rabat and the Don Lavoie Fellow at Mercatus Center, George Mason University. He is the Research Director at the Palah Light Lab at The New School & University at Buffalo. He was an Early Career Researcher at the Association of Middle Eastern Women's Studies (AMEWS), and a Researcher of Digital Studies at the Berkman Klein Center at Harvard University. Benharrousse was an Early Career Researcher at the African Academy for Migration Research (AAMR) at the University of Witwatersrand, a Researcher at the Palah Light Lab at the University at Buffalo, SUNY, and a Research Collaborator at the Paris Institute for Critical Thinking (PICT).
Education
Ph.D. - Mohammed V University in Rabat | Migration, Cultural, Political Studies
Rabat, Morocco | Jan 2021 – Current
Dissertation: They Cannot Not Exit: Irregular Emigration, Clandestinety, and Necropolitics in the Contemporary Maghrebian Novel.
Advisor: Jamal Bahmad, Ph.D.
Master of Arts - University of Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdollah | Moroccan Cultural Studies And Political Economy
Fez, Morocco | Aug 2018 – Jun 2020
Completed professional developments in Moroccan Cultural studies, Feminism, Foreign Policy, militarization, and Governance.
Publishes peer-reviewed research articles on Moroccan Popular Culture.
Bachelor of Arts - University of Ibn Zohr | Literature, Cultural Studies, Literary Studies
Azrou, Morocco | Aug 2015 – Jul 2018
Awarded best Monograph by the Department of English Studies.
Delivered lectures about English Literature and Englishness to fellow students
Experience
Don Lavoie Fellow, Mercatus Center, George Mason University
Arlington (Remote), U.S. | Aug 2023 – Current
Well-versed in analyzing factors such as institutional frameworks, incentives, information networks, and emergent orders.
Committed to generating reliable, impartial evidence and analyses to inform policy discussions and public discourse surrounding the conflict.
Seeks to further nuanced understanding of regional conflicts and their intersection with issues such as women's empowerment, economic conditions, and political transformations in the Middle East through structured research methodologies.
Research Director, Palah Light Lab, The New School
New York (Remote), U.S. | Sep 2022 – Oct 2023
Analyzed complex data sets and presented clear findings to stakeholders.
Identified critical research questions in Feminist, Women's, and MENA studies.
Excellent communication and collaboration skills with both internal and external partners
Passionate about leveraging research to drive innovation and support organizational decision-making.
Research Fellow, African Academy for Migration Research (AAMR), University of Witwatersrand
Johannesburg (Remote), South Africa | Dec 2021 – Dec 2022
Awarded the prestigious AAMR Award for an innovative, original dissertation on Migration, Policy Analysis, and North African studies.
Accountable for completing high-quality research proposals ahead of the deadline, ensuring research upholds ethical standards.
Committed to producing rigorous, meaningful research to advance the field of Moroccan Cultural Studies.
Researcher/Participant, Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society, Harvard University & Digital Asia Hub
Cambridge (Remote), U.S. | Mar 2021 – Nov 2021
Served as subject matter expert on digital identity, Women's studies, political economy, and decoloniality.
Conducted extensive literature reviews to identify intersections between digital studies and postcolonialism.
Authored comprehensive entry on digital colonialism grounded in rigorous research with a cross-functional team of experts.
Guided colleagues in developing background research and literature reviews.
Early Career Researcher, Association of Middle Eastern Women's Studies (AMEWS)
Baltimore (Remote), U.S. | Feb 2021 – Aug 2021
Conducted thorough research utilizing diverse sources on political economy, civil movements, women's status, and quota systems.
Presented analysis of Moroccan women's issues to Professor Fatima Sadiqi to inform future scholarship in the region.
Demonstrated commitment to elevating overlooked voices and perspectives, especially the effects of the continuous conflicts in the region.
Research Fellowship, Palah Light Lab & Amatryx Lab, University at Buffalo, SUNY
Bufallo (Remote), U.S. | Jan 2021 – Jan 2023
Conducted research on gender, conflict, and North African studies as a lab researcher.
Lectured on inequality, and digital humanities for developing world researchers, especially from the MENA region.
Passionate about elevating overlooked voices and perspectives, identifying knowledge gaps, and proposing impactful research.
Organized meetings and prepared and distributed materials for conferences and didactic educational activities.
Graduate Researcher, Paris Institute for Critical Thinking
Paris (Remote), France | Mar 2021 – Oct 2021
Met regularly with the research team to identify issues and maintain study alignment with objectives.
Conducted thorough literature reviews to better understand research topics and prepare for studies.
Prepared summaries of research data for use in high-level meetings and presentations.
Publications
Published
Bahmad, J & R. Benharrousse. (2023). "(Les mains dans le cambouis) /Hands in the Mud." Afriques en Mouvement Journal, 7(1).
Benharrousse, R. (2023). "Cross-reading of Contemporary African Literature through Award-winning Novels." Afriques en Mouvement Journal, 7(1).
Benharrousse, R. (2022). “Beyond the Reader, Towards the Player: Reconceptualizing the Reader-Response Theory through Video-Games.” J-Lalite: Journal of English Studies, 3(2), 154-64. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.20884/1.jes.2022.3.2.6945.
Benharrousse, R. (2021). “The Mystical, Chaotic, and Atemporal: Neocolonial Literature in Moroccan Secondary Education.” Artha: Journal of Social Sciences, 20(2), 1-18. Retrieved from https://doi: 10.12724/ajss.57.6.
Benharrousse, R. (2021). “Review of Moroccan Cinema Uncut: Decentralized Voice, Transnational Perspectives.” Hespéris-Tamuda, 56(1), 555-558.
Benharrousse, R. (2020). “Against the Homeland: Popular Exilic Antagonism through “Azzouz is Mad”.” Runas. Journal of Education and Culture, 1(1), 57-65. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.46652/runas.v1i1.6.
Benharrousse, R. (2020). “The Dilapidated Prefix: Beyond Postcolonialism’s ‘Post’ and Towards the Process.” In Post-colonial Praxis: Ramifications and Intricacies. (Mumbai: Notion Press, 2020). p. 36-57.
Benharrousse, R. (2020). “Towards Sexual Education: Moroccan Youth’s Perception Between Globality and Islam.” Pacha. Journal of Contemporary Studies of the Global South, 1(3), 26-38. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.46652/pacha.v1i3.34.
Benharrousse, R. (2019). “Reverse Chauvinism: Women in M. Ba’s So Long a Letter and O. Sembene’s XALA.” Euro Afro Studies International Journal, 2(1), 70-80. Retrieved from http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3569771.
Benharrousse, R. (2019). Digital Poetry and the Transcendence of Print Poetry’s Boundaries: Interactivity and the Reader. Munich, Germany: Verlag Publications.
Under Review
Benharrousse, R. (2024). "The Virtual Extension of Systemic Misogyny: Experiences of Moroccan Women Online."
Benharrousse, R. (2024). "Necropolitics in Maghrebian Irregular Migration: Between Burning and Death."
Benharrousse, R. (2024). "Infrastructural Necropolitics: Moroccan Governance, Colonialism, and Migration"
Lectures
Benharrousse, R. (2024). “Militarization of Foreign Policy as a Necropolitical Continuum in the MENA region.” SALAM workshops as part of the World Peace Foundation.
Benharrousse, R. (2023). "Towards the Political Turn: Digital Narratives for Emancipation and Political Activism." at the 3rd International Conference for Digital Humanities at the University of Calabar, Nigeria.
Benharrousse, R. (2022). "Immigrant Bodies between Autoimmunity and Biopolitics through Roberto Esposito." Paper presented as a part of the ImmUnity and CommUnity Conference at Ibn Zohr University.
Benharrousse, R. (12-17/09/2022). “Between Death Worlds and Necropower: Harraga through Maghrebian Youth’s Perceptions.” Paper presented at Deutscher Orientalistentag, Berlin, Germany. (Remote).
Benharrousse, R. (2022). “The Character Between Reality and Fiction: Social Realism in Maghrebian Literature.” The Olive Writers Association organized this Lecture in collaboration with the Friedrich Naumann Foundation at the American Arts Center.
Benharrousse, R. (2021). “Electronic Literature and the Question of Language.” This Distinguished Lecture was presented at the Media Studies Department, University of Buffalo. (Remote)
Benharrousse, R. (2021). “Digital Literature in the MENA region: futures and challenges.” Dr. Margaret Rhee organized this workshop at the Media Studies Department, University of Buffalo. (Remote).
Benharrousse, R. (2020). “Literature and Humor in the Moroccan Context.” This Lecture was presented at the Department of English Studies, University of Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah.
Benharrousse, R. (2018). “Digital Poetry in the Arab World.” This Presentation was delivered to Dar America Casablanca at the University of Ibn Zohr, Ait Melloul Campus.
Benharrousse, R. (2017). “Moroccan Poetry and the Importance of Literature.” This Presentation was delivered at the University of Ibn Zohr, Ait Melloul Campus.
Awards & Certificates
Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) Certificate (Teacher Records, 2023).
African Academy for Migration Research (AAMR) (ECR Ph.D. Award, 2021).
Dar America Casablanca & Ait Melloul Campus Research Award (Monograph Award, 2018).
