South is the New Cool

This article addresses the lack of practical solutions in relation to centering in the humanities. Employing a reflexive approach grounded in the universal within the intimate, I explore the extent to which anchoring is crucial in Global South academia, specifically in Morocco, to foster centered critical cultural studies. By examining various examples drawn from my academic experience, notably at Rabat International University, I argue that anchoring is indispensable for any recentering enterprise, particularly in the Global South. On a conceptual level, I advise shifting away from the prefix ‘de-’, as in ‘decetering’, which de facto places the center ‘elsewhere’, to focus on ‘(re‑)centering’ and identity affirmation processes occurring within a specific context. On a theoretical level, I recommend moving away from the paradigms of the ‘decolonial’ and ‘postcolonial’. However, when associated with an exclusive understanding of identity affirmation, anchoring can lead to excessive ‘ tamaghrabit ’, or Moroccanness, and hard nationalism. Hence, I posit it is necessary to define boundaries to the anchoring process. Inspired by Abdelkébir Khatibi’s ‘double critique’ of both Western and Oriental traditional systems of thought and power, through an examination of specific everyday situations, I illustrate how to simultaneously navigate the fine lines within the Moroccan cultural studies field and beyond, between North and South, as well as between centering and nationalism.