About

This website is dedicated to following Egypt’s January Revolution in progress, and contains details of the international conference, The Egyptian Revolution, One Year On: Causes, Characteristics and Fortunes, to be held at the Department of Politics and International Relations, Oxford University, on 18-19 May 2012 (#oxegypt). It is convened by Reem Abou-El-Fadl, Junior Research Fellow at the DPIR and St Edmund Hall.

The popular uprising of 25 January 2011 launched a revolution in Egypt that captured the imagination of observers worldwide. Its reverberations continue to be felt throughout the Arab world and Middle East region, as well as in major international capitals. This conference seeks to mark the first anniversary of this extraordinary development, with Oxford University as the meeting point for scholars and activists to consider the causes, characteristics, and fortunes of Egypt’s January Revolution. It has been timed to allow reflection on the events of the first anniversary in January and February 2012, as well as the projected final months of the ‘transitional period’.

Amidst the wave of scholarly interest this year in the Arab uprisings as a whole, this conference offers a critical and in-depth focus on one country case. Egypt is worthy of particular attention in its own right, but also as it has long been a touchstone for change in the Arab world. This conference also stands out for its explicit aim to bring together scholars from inside and outside the Arab world, and for encouraging the participation of colleagues based in Egypt. Moreover, we will be hosting a rare meeting of revolutionary activists, to help answer important questions about the nature of political work. We are particularly concerned to create a space for their voices, which have too often been sidelined in certain fora of political and scholarly debate. Overall, we are keen to facilitate and join a conversation between scholars and activists, which will doubtless enrich our understanding of the ongoing revolution.

We hope this conference will form the basis for a new scholarly network whose strength lies in its ties with its activist counterparts, and which will engage in continued collaboration on emerging themes. Together, we hope to work towards the longer term project of writing ‘anniversary histories’ of Egypt’s January Revolution.

THANKS

This Conference would not have been possible without the generous assistance of several organisations and individuals. I would like to thank them all warmly:

  • The Department of Politics and International Relations, the John Fell OUP Research Fund, and the Middle East Centre, all of Oxford University, for their generous support
  • The Conference Advisory Board: Mezna Qato, Kerem Öktem and Mustapha Kamel al-Sayyid, for sharing their rich experience and offering valuable advice and so many hours of their time during this project
  • Margo Kirk, Research Support Officer at the Department of Politics and International Relations, Oxford University, for her tireless support since this project began
  • Rasangi Prematilaka, Senior Research Support Officer at the Department of Politics and International Relations, Oxford University, for her crucial assistance with conference funding applications
  • Lilian  Muinde, Conference Coordinator at the Residential Centre for the Continuing Education Department, Rewley House, for her help and cooperation with all conference accommodation requirements
  • Mariya Petkova, Oxford graduate student and journalist, for efficient and cheery conference assistance
  • Alaa Hamouda, Ayman Shaltoni and Marwa al-Hayek of WebPlanet in Gaza, Palestine, for inspired poster and conference website design, and Saleem Lubbad, Oxford undergraduate, for kindly putting us in touch.

Reem Abou-El-Fadl

May 2012