Youssef El-Alaoui

I am a PhD student in the Histories and Cultures of Muslim Societies program in Harvard’s Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations. Originally from Rabat, Morocco, I grew up between Morocco and the Balkans before pursuing my higher education in Paris.

As an undergraduate, I studied humanities and social sciences in a multidisciplinary program between Paris Sciences et Lettres University (PSL) and Lycée Henri-IV. I then completed a Master’s in Transnational History at the École normale supérieure (ENS-PSL) and the École nationale des chartes. My master’s research focused on Algerian students at al-Qarawiyyīn in Fez, Morocco between the 1930s and 1960s, examining transnational student mobility and scholarly networks between Morocco and Algeria during the colonial period.

My current research focuses on the history of Islamic higher education and madrasa culture in nineteenth-century North Africa, particularly the Maghreb. Combining social and intellectual history, I am interested in scholars and students, institutions of learning, scholarly networks, and the material and social conditions that shaped the production and transmission of knowledge.

Beyond my research, I have a longstanding passion for libraries and previously worked at the Humanities and Social Sciences Library of the École normale supérieure in Paris. Outside the classroom and the archives, I enjoy theater, which I practiced for nearly a decade, including contemporary theater at the Théâtre de la Cité internationale (TCI) in Paris. Since arriving at Harvard, I have also taken up rowing with the Harvard Griffin GSAS Rowing Club and can often be found rowing on the Charles River.