Date: 06/04/2022
The SCDTP are excited to introduce the new co-editors of our blog: Rachid Sekkai and Mark Kaye.
Mark and Rachid have both received PhD scholarships through the SCDTP on the Governance, Citizenship and Security (Area Studies) pathway and are currently undertaking a Masters in Social Research Methods at the University of Southampton.
Rachid’s research seeks to untangle the mystery of an outcast community of Algerians (the Harkis), who collaborated with the French army during the Algerian war of independence from 1954 to 1962. He intends to do this by conducting an ethnographic study of Harkis who remained in Algeria after the war, to ‘get up close and personal’ to their lived experiences, explore their perceptions of the ‘treason’ narrative, and investigate the ways in which they sought to reintegrate back into Algerian society.
Mark’s research takes an interdisciplinary approach to examining the relationship between the United Kingdom and the continent of Europe, with particular focus on the EC/EU and the project of European integration. His work explores the relationship between narrative construction, identity and political preferences.
Both Rachid and Mark bring considerable experience to their new role as co-editors of the SCDTP blog. Rachid has worked as a journalist for BBC Arabic, part of the BBC World Service, for seventeen years, reporting on the Middle East and North Africa, while Mark has worked for many years as a freelance political reporter, specialising in British and European politics.
Asked to comment, Rachid and Mark said:
‘This is an exciting time for us both and we are grateful for the chance to support our colleagues through this role. The blog is a great opportunity for students and academic staff across the SCDTP to exhibit their work. We hope that the blog becomes a space for researchers to promote their projects, but also a place of broader learning, discussion and debate.’
If you would like to contribute, have a proposal you’d like to discuss or have any suggestions for the blog, please get in touch:
Rachid: Rs2c21@soton.ac.uk
Mark: Mak1u21@soton.ac.uk
