Visiting Professors in Tunisia to share knowledge and methods
Sharing different teaching methods and points of view is one of the objectives of the project that aims to reinforce the institution capacity of Tunisia Higher Education System. This month, students had a Discourse Analysis session with Professor Amel Guizani and the visiting professor from Westminster, Hayet Bahri on framing theories and practices in the field of journalism.
“I am contributing to the MA course on Migration through an elective subject titled “Discourse Analysis and Migration Narratives”. This opportunity allowed me to teach a new subject and explore a new approach in relation to the question of migration. I drew my motivation from what I was learning thanks to my subject, but also from my students’ enthusiasm about and interest in the different issues that we discussed in class. The most enjoyable part of the course was the co-teaching sessions with Ms. Hayet Bahri, a visiting professor from the University of Westminster. The sessions focused on communication, the notion of framing, and its impact on analyzing/building narratives and counter-narratives of migration. The students’ exchanges and responses showed their good mastery of analysis techniques, critical thinking, and awareness of multiple aspects of the migration issue”, said Professor Amel Guizani.
El Manar’ Professors and students have received professors from UNIPA: Marco Di Donato, from the University of Palermo, made a speech during the Conflicts and Refugees class, taught by Professor Samira Mechri. The sessions were highly informative and interactive, as they focused on different issues such as, the Palestinian Case and cases related to refugee camps including Lebanon, Syria and Iraq.
On 22 April, the MA Migration activities were dedicated to a fruitful discussion between the students, prof. Rim Triki, prof. Samira Mechri and Prof. Roberta Teresa Di Rosa, from the University of Palermo. Professor Roberta Di Rosa, was co-teacher with professor Rim Triki during our Sending Countries – Diasporas, Families and Social Networks Abroad. The program of the day, by Prof. Rim Triki, developed in different moments. The day started with the presentation of the participants, teachers and students, a moment when each one had the opportunity to share the motivations that led them to choose to study migration in depth. In the first part of the session, the student Cyrine Azaiez presented an interesting and in-depth research on the Conceptualization of Digital Diaspora and the development of scholarship related to the issue. The presentation, of remarkable interest, offered numerous points for discussion, which were debated in the classroom among all participants in the following part.Some of the themes introduced in the presentation were then compared by Prof. Di Rosa with other international studies that have deepened the impact of digital tools on migratory choices, paths and networks.
The opportunities and risks inherent in the use of digital tools in migration are a theme that has triggered a considerable participation of students, who also shared experiences and opinions on the prospects for the new generations in this area. In the third part, a case study was presented on the connections between digitalization and migration, a concrete research experience on the “smart migration” of unaccompanied foreign minors in Sicily, whose elements were the occasion for a further debate with the students and teachers present, in which it was possible to identify some critical issues of this relatively recent line of studies, which deserve further research and deepening.
