“The earth is beautiful, and it is too bad that human beings are too busy to look at it,” mentioned Osire Glacier when talking about her passion for hikes and traveling.

This scholar, professor at Athabasca University in Alberta, and adjunct professor with Bishop’s history department specializes in the fields of women’s history, politics of gender, human rights in post-colonial Morocco and sexuality. Her wide array of expertise and passions permits her to find inspiration in every aspect of her surroundings. This open-mindedness towards the world surrounding her is what inspired her for past works, including her book Féminin et masculin: Photos d’affiches publicitaires, and her most recent manuscript, Freedom for Morocco: A family tale, which both serve to deconstruct societal stereotypes. 

Osire Glacier reports that stereotypes are often constructed between the Western world and the Middle East, and her book Féminin et masculin, Photos d’affiches publicitaires is a way of deconstructing the idea that such differences exist between those two regions. More precisely, this book looks at how we view men and women in the public space. Glacier found her inspiration for this work by walking down the streets of Montreal and finding advertisements representing a “highly gendered definition of what a human being is”, portraying women as “romantic, loving, slim and young,” almost as an object, and men as “muscular, strong, not sensitive and aging well.” She finds it ironic to see this representation in Canada which is among the best countries for women’s rights and status in society. With her work, she challenges stereotypes of the mainstream media by demonstrating that we can find the same societal constructs of the visions of men and women in the West as in the Middle East.

Her latest manuscript, Freedom for Morocco: A family tale, was inspired by documents she inherited that portray anti-colonial struggles in Morocco as populations fought for freedom and human rights. She creates a parallel between her personal experiences growing up in Morocco and the Moroccan history written in these documents describing Morocco’s independence, the rise of Islam and the repressive state present today, using data gathered by Human Rights Watch to supplement her research. 

“I am using testimonies. It is accessible, and I just hope that people can read it so that they know there are people on the ground, and their voice never reached us. It never reaches the general public so I hope that they can,” says Osire Glacier as she describes why this new book has such importance for her and for readers. She describes her book as “not as scholarly as others” so it is more accessible to a wider audience. The book deconstructs stereotypes and fear of Islam while attempting to educate people and eliminate discourses of hatred toward people who were just born in a Muslim country.

If you are looking for an educating read, Osire Glacier’s manuscript Freedom for Morocco: A family tale is available at the Bishop’s Library Learning Commons. 

For more information on this scholar, consult her website https://etudesmarocaines.com/

To know more about Osire Glacier and her photography, consult her photography website https://osireglacier.com/