Initiatives to Integrate
Tamazight in University Curricula
By Lila Cheriguene
The following is a chronological list of written proposals sent to the
Department of Education and Scientific Research by Salem Chaker and Mouloud
Mammeri between 1978 and 1982, requesting the incorporation of Tamazight
in higher education. This list excludes the multiple discussions and verbal
proposals made to University and Department of Education officials and the
numerous initiatives taken by Mouloud Mammeri prior to and after the
cancellation of the Tamazight course in 1973.
December 1st 1978
A letter was sent to the Department of Education (direction of Human Sciences)
suggesting:
the creation of an elective Tamazight course in the undergraduate program
of Human Sciences.
the integration of Tamazight in the Master's program of Linguistics and
Cultural Anthropology.
March 26th 1979
A second letter was sent to the Department of Education (under the direction of
the new Secretary A. Brerhi) reiterating the suggestions of the previous
letter. A copy of this letter was sent to the president of the University of
Algiers.
July 2nd 1979
A letter was sent to the Department of Education requesting that a Tamazight
track be introduced in the newly created Institute of Linguistics and Phonetics.
May 24th 1980
The Center for Anthropological, Ethnographical, and Prehistorical Research,
directed by Salem Chaker, proposed the creation of a new program called "Popular
Languages and Cultures" with a Tamazight track.
June 10th 1980
A letter was sent to the Department of Education reiterating the proposal of
May 24th. A copy of the letter was sent to the Department of Human Sciences of
the University of Tizi Ouzou.
November 1980
With the help of some professors from the University of Tizi Ouzou, Salem Chaker
elaborated a detailed program for:
the creation of an Institute of Tamazight and Amazigh studies.
the creation of an elective Tamazight track.
the creation of a Master's program of Tamazight.
the setting up of a research group for Tamazight. This group would be part
of the National Organization for Scientific Research.
This program was submitted on November 15th 1980 to the secretary of the
Department of Education by a delegation of professors from the University of
Tizi Ouzou. The secretary reassured the delegation that this project, which
he had previously discussed with Salem Chaker, would be taken very seriously
and its realization assured.
October 1981
Mouloud Mammeri, Salem Chaker, and Youcef Nacib prepared an agenda for
the commission named "popular Heritage" created by the Department of Education
to save and promote the Algerian cultural heritage.
January 1982
After the members of the commission failed to reach an agreement on the
proposed agenda because of differences in the opinions of the Arabists and
Amazighists, the commission was officially dissolved. Mouloud Mammeri and
Salem Chaker elaborated an alternate plan in which they proposed:
the creation of a "Popular Languages and Cultures" program at the
University of Algiers.
the creation of a Master's program in popular languages and cultures with
two tracks: Arabic and Amazigh.
the integration of this program in the undergraduate programs of
literature and human sciences.
It is this plan that the officials of the Department of Education used to create
a Master's program in popular culture with the Arabic track only on July 7th
1982 at the Institutes of Arabic language and culture of the Universities of
Algiers, Oran, Constantine, and Annaba. Except for this plan, which was
carried out in favor of the Arabic language and culture only, and the two
institutes for the Amazigh language and civilization (Tizi Ouzou and Bgayet)
created in 1988, none of the other proposals have had any consideration on the
part of the government.
Reference
Salem Chaker, Les Berberes Aujourd'hui, L'Harmattan. Paris, 1989.