Walter Armbrust
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- May 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780691162645
- eISBN:
- 9780691197517
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691162645.003.0002
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Social and Cultural Anthropology
This chapter explains that the first eighteen days of the Egyptian Revolution culminating in the downfall of Hosni Mubarak were important because they created a fund of symbolic resources—stories ...
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This chapter explains that the first eighteen days of the Egyptian Revolution culminating in the downfall of Hosni Mubarak were important because they created a fund of symbolic resources—stories people told about where they were and what they did, and mass mediation of narratives and images, both during and after the events. It then narrates some of the author's stories. They resonate with the widely felt process of entering into a liminal void, and they help establish some of the places and people who will feature in subsequent chapters. At the very beginning of the revolution, the author often spent his days working in a rented flat, which was not far from Tahrir Square. He spent his days there attempting to read various materials relevant to his research on the history of Egyptian mass media. After January 25, trying to glean insights on the history of radio and television from old magazines was an exercise in futility, not because the magazines were not rich sources for his research, but because the revolution taking place in the streets below was a constant distraction.Less
This chapter explains that the first eighteen days of the Egyptian Revolution culminating in the downfall of Hosni Mubarak were important because they created a fund of symbolic resources—stories people told about where they were and what they did, and mass mediation of narratives and images, both during and after the events. It then narrates some of the author's stories. They resonate with the widely felt process of entering into a liminal void, and they help establish some of the places and people who will feature in subsequent chapters. At the very beginning of the revolution, the author often spent his days working in a rented flat, which was not far from Tahrir Square. He spent his days there attempting to read various materials relevant to his research on the history of Egyptian mass media. After January 25, trying to glean insights on the history of radio and television from old magazines was an exercise in futility, not because the magazines were not rich sources for his research, but because the revolution taking place in the streets below was a constant distraction.
