History and Social Studies Education

The Arab Spring refers to the various popular uprisings that started in December 2010. It began officially when a farmer set himself on fire in protest to his treatment by the police. This protest by one man sparked a protest throughout the rest of the country and other countries too through out the region.  The people that have lived under authoritarian rule and lived in oppression have lost their fear to protest and rise against their government. They protest peacefully, weekly, sometimes daily. One place of protest is Tahrir Square. 

i had no idea what Arab spring was before this video. i am now wondering how bad the oppression was if it drove a man to light himself on fire.

While we sit here on Facebook and Twitter for a way to connect with friends, share photos of our vacations or follow our favorite celebrities every move places in North Africa and some of the Middle East are using social media to change their country.  In countries like Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt people have used these social media sites to disperse information to the general public.  Where a rally will be held, a map of where police forces will be located, and what to do in the event teargas is used are all topics for discussion on social media.  With the use of these websites a larger group of people are able to take part in the overthrow of the government.  With leaders restricting the access to the web even more people were intrigued to join the protests.  When people can't follow along on the internet the events they decided to go take part in the events themselves.  With the use of these social media websites the Arab Spring in these areas was able to be as successful as it was.

I think it is important that technology plays a role in these revolutions. Before, if a revolution happened, the dictator could just silence its population. Now the population has things like Facebook and Twitter to mobilize their plans of attack for meeting places and advice about how to confront the government. As such, the power of the citizens has grown and according to the article some argue it was this power that made the government officials in Egypt and Tunisia stand down. I tend to agree since the coverage of the event helped increase the size of the demonstrations.  

I love that these protests for democracy are being led by the citizens. Since the citizens actually want this type of government, there is actually a chance that this might  be what the country needs. As you mentioned during the Solar Diem video, what works for one society may not translate to another. The author of this piece is more than likely from a western democracy given how the author thinks "democratic change offers the only solution"  to issues like poverty and internal strife within "Arab" countries. Yet, that isn't the case in the Middle East. By forcing a democratic revolution on Iraq,  the region is more destabilized than it was under the harsh command of Saddam Hussein. As you mentioned in class, Iraq needed a dictator like Hussein to keep peace though. So as helpful as technology might be  for democratic revolutions, democratic revolution might not be the answer to every countries problems.

The Arab Spring owes its origins to the mass use of social media websites to get organized and launch the protests that ultimately overthrew several dictators in the region. Social media was crucial for the movement to spread like wild fire, as young people all over North Africa and the Middle East banded together against the tyranny of their governments. Protests broke out in every capital of the region, noticeably in Cairo, where the protests briefly transcended ethnic and religious disputes in the name of freedom for all. Although the movement has long since fizzled out in the face of increased violence, instability, and the lack of a consensus among protesters as to what their next move should be, the Arab Spring served as a powerful example as to extent of which the Internet will now play in global affairs. It is a powerful tool that has completely revolutionized the way we live our everyday lives, and it has completely changed the game for much of North Africa and the Middle East.

Neil MacGregor, the Director of the British Museum, explains Middle Eastern history using the Cyrus Cylinder.  His first point in this TED talk is especially interesting because he explains that people age and perish and objects do the same, but objects such as this cylinder survive and are able to tell important stories of history for a much longer time than people normally can.