Pitt professors talk Arab Spring, social media

While people around the world have followed the Arab Spring through social media, Pitt professor… While people around the world have followed the Arab Spring through social media, Pitt professor Mohammed Bamyeh witnessed the revolution firsthand.

“I was on sabbatical during that time, and I went to Cairo expecting a revolution,” Bamyeh said.

The sociology professor told his story at “Digital Media in the Arab Spring” Tuesday afternoon in the Cathedral of Learning. Political science professor Michael Goodhart also spoke at the forum, which was hosted by Digital Media at the University of Pittsburgh, to an audience of about 40 people about the effects that social media can have on social movements.

“I confess that I don’t know much about the Arab Spring or social media, but I do know about democracy,” Goodhart said, noting that social media can alter the landscape of a revolution by providing a tool of coordination, as it did in the Arab Spring.

The Arab Spring — a series of demonstrations in the Arab world that began in December 2010 — reached Egypt in January 2011. Many demonstrations were organized through Facebook and Twitter. Egyptian citizens demanded the overthrow of then-President Hosni Mubarak, who had led the country for almost 30 years. He officially resigned from office on Feb. 11.

Bamyeh highlighted the sense of individuality that consumed the demonstrations in Egypt, noting the uniqueness of the handmade signs that Egyptian citizens held throughout the protests. He displayed one art piece where the Egyptian words for “get out” were spelled out in rocks, calling for Mubarak and his regime to step down.

“There was a lack of uniformity and mass production that we see in many political demonstrations,” he said. “The revolution was collective, yet everyone had a chance to show their own individuality.”

In an act of unity, Egyptian citizens came together to reform the national flag, which now has a new symbolic combination of a cross and crescent moon and the traditional colors of red, white and black.

Citizens young and old participated in the protests, Bamyeh said. While the younger generation drew pictures and communicated through social media, the older generation posted handmade decrees online listing the misdeeds of the military regime for the entire public to see.

“Networking matters when it taps into a long-felt sentiment held by many people,” Goodhart said. “Other people share the same concerns and social media gets the word out.”

Three days into the revolution, the Egyptian government noticed the overwhelming reaction to social media. They attempted to shut down the Internet and other communication systems in order to prevent the delegitimization of the military regime. Ironically, the process in itself was delegitimizing, Goodhart said.

He spoke about the dilemma that the business and religious leaders who had once monopolized Egypt encountered. They now had to confront a powerful wave of criticism released through social media.

“If [social networking] is open and participatory, does it automatically make it inherently democratic?” he said.

Bamyeh also emphasized the sense of utopia that Tahrir — the main square in Egypt where the demonstrations took place — provided. In the square, he said that there were multiple stages set up, with people waiting in line to give political speeches, read poems and sing.

Goodhart said that the Occupy movements should use Tahrir as a model for their demonstrations, especially in terms of the individuality and uniqueness of the Egyptian revolution.

Denisse Sequeira, a junior majoring in neuroscience and religious studies, said she appreciated the comparison of the two movements.

“I find it very interesting to compare past and current revolutions along with the similarities between Occupy Wall Street and Tahrir,” Sequeira said at the forum. “If I hadn’t come to this event, I would have never thought of that connection.”