Abstract
The dramatic infamous uprisings known as ‘Arab Spring’ have changed greatly the MENA region and the world order since 2011. Activists and influencers took advantage of communication technologies and social media to create digital platforms and archives at the highest moments of conflict. As such, cultural activism and digital archiving prove to be a crucial rebellion tool that not only shapes the public opinion, by unfolding the events as they are in the ground, but also uncover the extent to which literature and art could endorse values of liberty and democracy when digitized and archived. Interestingly, these resounding events have motivated the literary and artistic production in the Arab world that might be described as an ‘aesthetic uprising’, referring to the booming of literatures and arts of all genres during that period. It works as an extensive drive that supplements the imaginative depth of authors in a way that makes the act of writing parallel to the act of resilience par excellence. This paper traces the transcultural identity of the ‘Arab Spring’ by close reading some of its literary representations and showcasing the linguacultural reverberations of those political moments.
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Beyond Borders: The Role of the Humanities in Reimagining Communities
KEYWORDS
Cultural Archive. Slogans. Revolutionary Literature. Art Expressions. Crossing Borders. Language
