About

Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Wesleyan University

Ph.D, Anthropology, Columbia University

Co-Founder, Youmein Media Festival.    www.georgebajalia.com  @ageorgeb

A. George Bajalia is an anthropologist (Ph.D, Columbia University), Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Wesleyan University. With Tom Casserly (Tony Award for Best Musical, Fun Home) and Zakaria Alilech (Translator, Cultural Programmer American Cultural Association Morocco) and through the support of the American Language Centers of Morocco, he has directed F7ali F7alek (a Moroccan Arabic take on West Side Story, Romeo and Juliet, and the story of Tislit and Isli) as well as produced the annual Youmein Festival in Tangier, Morocco. For the screen, he has directed With Rugs Unfurled: The Social Life of a Moroccan Rug, as well as Multi Meets Poly: Multiculturalism and Polyculturalism go on a first date. His academic and artistic work has been supported by: CAORC-Mellon Mediterranean Research Fellowship, the American Institute of Maghrib Studies Long-Term Fellowship, Fulbright Foundation, the Fulbright-Hays DDRA fellowship, the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, and research fellowships from Columbia University’s Middle East Institute and the Institute for Religion, Culture, and Public Life. He is also a research fellow associated with the collective Think Tanger as well as the Qanat Collective. His research and artistic interests intersect in the borderland narratives of northern Morocco, and the social, linguistic, and political formations that emerge through waiting at borders. He holds a BA from Northwestern University's School of Communication, and an MA, M.Phil, and Ph.D from Columbia University in Socio-Cultural Anthropology. More information about his creative work and research can be found online at www.georgebajalia.com // https://intersections.wescreates.wesleyan.edu/