Please join us on Tuesday for the final Change meeting of the quarter.
This Tuesday at Change, Norah Abokhodair, Luis Fernando and Maria
Garrido will present their work on Human and Political Grievances for
Mobilization: Different roles of Facebook during the Egyptian Arab Spring.
In the field of development, social movements have long been recognized as
key actors in the process of social change. Engaging in range of struggles,
social movements are contesting traditional centers or power while
transforming the nature of political participation and collective action.
Despite this recognition, the intersection between social movements, ICTs,
and social change still remains an understudied area of inquiry. This paper
analyzes the different roles of Facebook during the protests that lead to
the resignation of President Mubarak in Egypt and opened a new
sociopolitical period in the country. The analysis is based on qualitative
coding of two Facebook pages in Arabic developed by some of the most
important groups involved in these mobilizations: We Are All Khaled Said
and the April 6th Youth Movement. The study found that these two pages were
crucial in 1) building political awareness and mobilizing youth to take the
streets; 2) creating bridges between online spaces and the streets; and 3)
raising political awareness on the meaning of the revolution and democracy
in the country. This study is based on a larger project that mapped the
trajectory of the April 6th Youth Movement in Egypt.
Norah Abokhodair is a Ph.D. student in the University of Washington
Information School. Her research interests focus on information assurance
in regards to emerging technologies. Moreover, she is interested in
exploring the implications of this shift on the security and privacy of an
individual’s information. Norah came to the University of Washington in
2009 from Saudi Arabia (SA) as a Fulbright Scholar after receiving the
Fulbright science award. Before that, she worked with DHL Express as their
Direct Sales Manager for 3 years, where she started the first female sales
team in DHL SA. Recently, Norah received her master’s degree in Information
Management from the University of Washington Information School.
Luis Fernando is a Ph.D. Candidate of Information Sciences at the
University of Washington (UW). He has been leader in the study of relations
of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and social movements in
the field of human rights and peacebuilding in Colombia. His research spans
such diverse areas as memories, public opinion and audiences studies on
violence and peace processes in Colombia, uses of media for social change,
immigration and information, and alternative processes of organization for
development. His Dissertation Proposal investigates on how Social Media has
been integrated into the daily practices of Social Movement Organizations
that work on immigration issues and immigration rights within Hispanic
communities in Washington State.
Maria Garrido is a Research Assistant Professor at the University of
Washington’s Information School. Her research explores how people, in
communities facing social and economic challenges, use information and
communication technologies to promote social change. Much of her work
focuses on technology appropriation in the context of social movements and
in international migration. Maria holds a Ph.D. in Communications from the
University of Washington and a master's degree in International Relations
from the University of Chicago.
What: Human and Political Grievances for Mobilization: Different roles of
Facebook during the Egyptian Arab Spring.
When: Tuesday, December 4th at 12 noon
Where: The Allen Center, room CSE 203