Building Symbolic Capital: Gender, Social networking, and the Politicization of Arab Youth

dc.contributor.authorElsadda, Hoda
dc.date.accessioned2013-01-11T17:46:05Z
dc.date.available2013-01-11T17:46:05Z
dc.date.issued2011
dc.descriptionPaper presented at MESA - Washington, December 2011en
dc.description.abstractNew media, social networking sites and blogs have played a key role in the mobilization and organization of mass movements of dissent and revolutions in the Arab world. In Egypt, the first decade of the twenty-first century witnessed an escalation of social and political protest movements which were empowered and energized by activists in cyberspace who reported and disseminated information about these movements, breaking the media embargo imposed by Arab regimes. New media, blogs, then Facebook and twitter, became important sources of information about new political groups and new modes of activism. At the same time, new movements, and new political subjects emerged as a consequence of action organized in cyberspace. Young men and women were at the forefront of these new movements, that ultimately, led to radical transformations currently underway and known as the Arab Spring. In this presentation, I argue that young men and women have been empowered by social networking sites to devise new modes for political participation and to accumulate symbolic capital that enabled them to be effective on the ground. I will begin by shedding light on three young women who played an active role in the mobilization of protests demanding radical change. I will reflect on the implications of their actions in relation to gender and citizenship, how their politicization via cyberspace is indicative of the story of a generation of young men and women who gained political awareness and were politically empowered on social networking sites, generation 2.0.en
dc.formatTexten
dc.format.extent1 digital file (7 p.)en
dc.identifier.citationElsadda, H. (2011). Building Symbolic Capital: Gender, Social networking, and the Politicization of Arab Youth. Proceedings of MESA, Washington, US.en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10625/50624
dc.language.isoen
dc.subjectSOCIAL MEDIAen
dc.subjectSOCIAL MOBILIZATIONen
dc.subjectARAB COUNTRIESen
dc.subjectPOLITICAL SYSTEMSen
dc.subjectARAB SPRINGen
dc.subjectEMPOWERMENTen
dc.subjectGENDER ANALYSISen
dc.subjectYOUTHen
dc.titleBuilding Symbolic Capital: Gender, Social networking, and the Politicization of Arab Youthen
dc.typeConference Paperen
idrc.dspace.accessIDRC Onlyen
idrc.noaccessDue to copyright restrictions the full text of this research output is not available in the IDRC Digital Library or by request from the IDRC Library. / Compte tenu des restrictions relatives au droit d'auteur, le texte intégral de cet extrant de recherche n'est pas accessible dans la Bibliothèque numérique du CRDI, et il n'est pas possible d'en faire la demande à la Bibliothéque du CRDI.en
idrc.project.number104090
idrc.project.titleArab Families and Youth : a Century of War, Migration and Displacementen
idrc.rims.adhocgroupIDRC SUPPORTEDen

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