Below at this blog thread, PLEASE POST AN OPENING PARAGRAPH OF 5-7 SENTENCES, with an UNDERLINED THESIS STATEMENT, for Thursday, March 20th's class. Yalla!
Our final paper is due at our course blog for Monday, April 7. No exceptions.
Research and craft an 8 paragraph multimedia paper (a paragraph = 5-7 sentences) posted as a STAND-ALONE post (with a sexy title) on our course blog, in which you articulate and defend your FINAL one sentence thesis focused on a specific aspect of the Arab Spring in the Middle East across at least 3 different Arab Spring countries.
Sample Question: Has the Arab Spring movement led to more democracy in the Arab Middle East?
Sample Thesis: "The Arab Spring has led to a democratic revolution in the 21st century Middle East, ushering an era of new and positive political transformations in Egypt, Algeria, and Libya."
To earn an A, your paper must:
1. Have a specific THESIS statement, grounded in TIME and PLACE, in your opening paragraph.
2. Consist of 8 paragraphs of between 5-7 sentences each.
3. Contain no grammar, spelling, or mechanical errors.
4. Be illustrated with AT LEAST one photo or video embed for EACH paragraph.
5. Provide AT LEAST one direct quotation from AT LEAST SIX different sources (you may include our 3 class texts) for EACH of your 8 paragraphs. Use research and texts to support your conclusions!
6. Focus on AT LEAST 3 specific Arab Spring countries.
7. Be presented with confidence in class (excerpted sections.)
Yalla - go Arab Spring'ers, go!
Heavy metal music has become one of the most popular forms of Western music to embed itself into the 21st Century Arab World. What seems like an absurd statement actually makes sense if you examine it. With half of the population of the Arab World being under the age of 25 and the recent Arab Spring uprisings that have young people taking to the streets, one could expect that an extreme genre of music like heavy metal could be gaining popularity. Subjects that heavy metal band's write about is everyday life for people in some of these countries. To quote Reda Zine, one of the founders of the Moroccan metal scene, "We play heavy metal because our lives are heavy metal." (Levine).
ReplyDeleteThroughout the events of the Arab uprisings, the media has followed many stories of the courageous men who started and aided this revolution. However, what are the women doing to gain their own rights? These men face many difficulties brought on by their countries’ government, but not as many hardships as the women. Men and women of the Arab world are heavily oppressed by the controlling governments and monarchies, but women live with abuse beyond what men deal with. Females experience physical and mental damage every day in the Arab world because of their gender. They have far less rights than men and are fighting their own personal wars every day. To gain women’s rights in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen where laws and societal norms oppress women, female citizens must actively participate and make an effort to form a revolution.
ReplyDelete(the last sentence is the thesis, I'm not sure how to underline it on here)
When Tunisia started a campaign to uprise against the corrupt ways of the society in which they live Egypt then Syria decided to host revolutions of their own. In doing so these countries have only seen failure in the eyes of the World. When Tunisia became the first to see some real success in their government and society the other Arab Spring countries attempted to use them as a model for their own success. Egypt drafting a constitution such as Tunisia did but only to land back in their vicious cycle. Syria uprising in their government to end up in a bloody battle for their lives. The Arab Spring from 2010 to now has held great success for the goals of Tunisia, but in following this revolution with goals of their own Egypt and Syria have acquired little success.
ReplyDeleteSocial media being thoroughly crucial in not only revolutionizing, but also bringing in political changes, has affected Arab revolutions in Egypt, Syria and Yemen, as it was used for fulfilling political motives. In the Arab world, the social media has become an important platform for dissent and an outlet for political and economic frustration (Frangonikolopoulos & Chapsos, 2012). The Arab Spring in various Arab countries was mainly to remove autocratic leaders and bring in democratic government. The revolutionists and activists took support of social media for obtaining their political motives related to bringing down the current regimes. They employed various forms of communication and information networks such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Skype, Yahoo Messenger, cell phone technology and much more for making the world know about the violence and autocracy in their respective countries.
ReplyDeleteCorruption has been an epidemic in the Arab world for years now. In Western countries, we have the belief that voting can make a difference for change. Whether that belief is true or not, it still gives a sense of democracy. People of the Arab world know voting will not get them the change they want. Election rigging is always an issue and has really gotten under the skins of the public. Rulers at the top of most Arab countries remain in power for decades, and that power along with abundant monetary gains stays inside a circle of people that have government connections. Government corruption heavily influenced events shaping Arab Spring movements in Egypt, Syria, and Yemen beginning in 2011.
ReplyDeleteThroughout the events in the Arab Spring beginning in 2011, Russia has had an influential role in the outcomes of the revolutions taking place in: Syria, Libya, and Tunisia. During the years prior to these countries revolutions Russia has sent significant financial and military aid to each of the three previously mentioned countries and ultimately played a role in the revolutions occurrences. Each of these three Arabic governments have received support from the Russian government which allowed them to remain a sense of control, and without the assistance from the Russian governments none of these countries would stand in the place that they are in now.
ReplyDeleteFor the past three to four years the Middle East has been dealing with the phenomenon that has been the Arab Spring. China, as one of the last remaining party dominated nations in the world today, is watching it carefully. The Communist party fears that the unrest that has sprung up in Libya, Syria, and Egypt could spread to their country. With what is going on within these countries, the current governing style that China has could back fire on it. To counteract this, the government has restricted internet access and attempted to ignore anything news related about the Arab Spring. Though it is unsure how long this practice will last before it blows up in China’s face.
ReplyDeleteWhen the Arab Spring first started spreading across the predominantly Muslim world, it was assumed that the revolutionaries would thrive in a new democratic world. Yet, as we have studied, the situation has not improved for anyone; countries like Egypt and Libya keep putting new leaders in place, only to take them down not too much later. This causes a constant struggle for multiple militias to fight for control. Because of an unestablished government, the militias have been able to carry out atrocities against their foes, and more importantly, minorities in the region. "Christians continue to be targets of brutal harassment and violence, including executions, and these actions would not be as prominent as they are now if there was an established and organized system of governance acting in the Arab Spring nations."
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ReplyDeleteThe forms in which news was relayed and covered throughout the Middle East’s Arab Spring uprisings and the way in which it continues to be circulated today , (post the uprisings) has had a great impact on how both the international community and citizens of the countries in which uprisings have recently taken place view the status of their country and “post revolution” progress. Three countries that in recent years had their citizens “up rise” against their governments in power in the hopes of revolution include Egypt, Libya and Tunisia. All three countries vary greatly from one another in regards to how they were affected by the uprisings and what role the media played in their execution and aftermath. The way in which information was/is delivered and the mediums used to deliver that information vary in range and form; from mainstream news broadcasts to the dailies from an independent videographer. How information was/is available and the way in which it is currently being delivered and consumed has influenced the post revolution success of Tunisia, the chaos that still exists in Libya and the stunted progress of Egypt.
ReplyDeleteVideogames have grown in popularity since the crash of 1983 and have become a global form of entertainment for the masses. As the use of the internet grows worldwide the amount of gamers in the world will grow with it. Has the world of gaming had a major impact on the Arab spring? Given that the population of the middle east is very young do they fall into the demographic? The rapid transfer of ideas and universal appeal of movies and music suggests that games should be right at home in the Arab world. It is important that games play a role in this revolution. The three countries that would benefit the most are Egypt, Syria, and Libya. They can help show the citizens of these countries how the rest of the world is, what we think of their countries, and connect the young people involved in the Arab spring with other hopeful young people around the world.
ReplyDeleteWhat started as a single Facebook group, began eradicating countries in the Middle East of their individual oppressing regimes, through online gathering, social media posting, and anti-government blogging; something so simple as social media had the power to reshape governments, which cought the eye of many western and developed nations including China, Russia, and the United States. Internet Monitoring and even censoring, or lack there of, is becoming an issue for not only autocratic and communist states, but for any country with a massive amount of online usage. As the Arab Spring sweeps through the Middle East, world leaders must take action, ensuring the safety of their own government and avoiding the creation of online awareness and protests that lead to what underwent in Syria, Egypt, and Yemen. Although few countries have ways of keeping their ears to the ground for instance, the NSA or the Great Firewall of China, the fear of an online undertaking and its mob mentality is still at large.
ReplyDelete“The global pubic, more aware than ever of what is going on in the world, and more able than ever before to share ideas, facts, experiences, and testimonies, is acutely sensitive to the vested interests of the powerful who stand in the way of their dreams,” (Sullivan, Andrew). As all countries are products of their past history, a review of such as well as respective political, economic, and social characteristics may offer insight into the future prospects of those states. “Despite the unique characteristics of each country’s situation, the common theme of the protests in the Arab world, and the West has been shaped by the continuing world economic crisis, expanding economic inequality, and rising social injustice,” (Ben-Meir, Alon). In 2011 the twin drivers of America’s promising protest movement against the financial sector and the Arab Spring uprisings, came with a big difference between young men and women willing to face bullets for change and citizens of all ages gathering under far less dangerous circumstances; nonetheless, showing the only way to meet their demands is through meaningful political change, the use of exercising their rights, and practicing the same means of communication for the accomplishment.
ReplyDelete“Street art is unsanctioned visual art practice in public places that questions the existing environment about socially relevant themes” (Dawn.com). Street art and graffiti have been a relevant topic in and around the Arab Spring uprising since its beginning in 2011. Political graffiti and street art has been seen throughout history as well. The Berlin Wall and the Ramallah Walls have proven that graffiti is a substantial means of getting a point across even if it takes a slow and steady pace to work its way into the hearts and minds of the people it surrounds on a daily basis. This is in no way a simple and easy fix in getting people motivated. There will be no fast spark that ignites people with graffiti. Graffiti is the answer to the long hall solution; the answer that will keep people thinking about that one piece of art for days wondering why there are not changes being made. This is the greatest type of presence, the one that wins over the hearts and minds of its spectators.The different types of protesting graffiti used to support the Arab Spring. Mainly focused on Egypt, Tunisia, and Libya in 2011 at the start of the Arab Spring. I will prove that the use of Graffiti had a substantial impact on getting protesters motivated and is a useful and tactical protesting tool.
ReplyDeleteDuring the last several years, the Middle East has been experiencing a revolution that began in Tunisia and Egypt that quickly spread throughout the Middle East to surrounding countries and has become what it is now; one of the most powerful revolutions of our generation. The Arab Spring came to be so successful and large due to the influence of grassroots organization by the use of social media to organize protests and spread their message to other citizens. ‘Grassroots’ implies that the creation of the movement and those members supporting it are natural and occur spontaneously and without much planning. During the revolutions, Middle Eastern countries’ protests spread very spontaneously because of the common belief in the movement. Consequently, the Arab Spring revolutions that occurred in Tunisia, Egypt and Syria were influenced strongly by grassroots organization and the revolutions would not have been as successful and influential if it was not for it.
ReplyDeleteIndependent media is key in having informed educated and non-bias citizens. However, according to the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers, the presence of independent media is severely lacking in Arabian countries. Additionally, independent media can only be fostered in an environment in which journalists are able to carry out their duties without fear of violence. Without this environment, media tends to be one-sided without a comprehensive look at the political environment. <>With the limited amount of independent media in Egypt, Tunisia and Syria, user generated content and opposition media represented a large portion of source material promoting and reporting on events.
ReplyDeleteInternet censorship is a tool that has been used by governments throughout the Arab world to control the dissemination of information prior to, during, and following the Arab Spring. The Arab uprisings have profoundly affected how the governments treat the internet and the information that it provides to the public. While some countries such as Egypt and Tunisia have reduced or eliminated internet censorship as a result of the Arab uprisings, other countries such as Syria have had little progress in removing censorship. The methods that each country uses to implement internet censorship can vary greatly where some may resort to physical arrest of known internet whistleblowers others may completely block the websites that the citizens use to communicate.
ReplyDeleteMany factors contributed to the 2011 Arab uprisings in various Arab countries, the biggest factor being corruption. From there, the goal of some uprisings turned more to having the leader step down from power. In Tunisia, “Corruption was rampant and the Ben Ali family, and that of his second wife Laila, were the principal beneficiaries.” In Egypt it was torture and corruption, not too far off from that of Tunisia. In Yemen, the uprisings had the same beginnings as those in Tunisia. The three countries mentioned didn’t all have the same level of corruption, giving some more reason to revolt.
ReplyDeleteThe Arab Spring is seen as a democratic movement. Young citizens of Arabic countries were pouring out into the streets demanding political freedom from their regimes. News stations stopped focusing on the Arab Spring once rulers stepped down. However, that was just the beginning for the citizens. Since 2011, Syria, Libya, and Yemen have been unstable, many of their citizens are fleeing their countries in hope of a better life elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteSince 2011 social media has been directly associated with various uprisings and revolutions. The Arab spring spawned a series of revolutionary movements that are unique in that they utilized social media as an effective means of spreading information and promoting insurgent agendas. The Arab spring uprisings are the first collective movements of their kind in the Middle East. The factors of social media affecting public opinion and international support in Libya, Tunisia, and Egypt, are increasingly rapid news alerts, widespread messaging, and the ability of the individual to spread information globally are a new phenomena during a given revolution. On the other hand regimes can implement social media to meet their own agendas in never before seen ways. The future of revolutionary movements in globalized societies will involve social media is assured, the degree to which can only be determined as it happens.
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