Paper short abstract:

This paper analyses the narratives of commitment of young activists who have taken part in political movements during the so-called 'Arab Spring' in Morocco and Tunisia and reflects upon the marking events which had a bearing on their sense of having a new goal in life.

Paper long abstract:

Where does the Calling spring from? What are the events that influence the sense of having a mission in life? How can we study the sense of awareness of having a specific goal in life? And how does Beruf as 'vocation' may shape one's personal future, leading, for instance, to Beruf as 'profession'? Drawing from the results of the research project "Globally Sensitive. Revolt, Citizenship, and Expectations for the Future in North Africa" (https://globallysens.hypotheses.org/), this paper aims to address these questions through the analysis of the pathways of commitment of young activists who have taken part in the political movements appeared in North Africa during the so-called 'Arab Spring'. In particular, I present and discuss the narratives whereby my Moroccan and Tunisian interlocutors relate their experiences and emotions before and during the revolts and the events that they consider had a bearing on their personal choices. Although I address a sense of Beruf which is mostly secular, I explore the analogies with the feelings of transcendence and immediacy commonly evoked in narratives of religious conversion and argue that the Calling is an insight about oneself in which a new moral order arises out of a progressive series of shifts that are meaningful, but often also unaware.