When one sees the revolution through the news, one sees just one type of protester – a young man. The point of our anthropological analysis is to highlight the actors that weren’t acknowledged in our news analysis, to address the people missing from the Egyptian Revolution story as told by the major media outlets. We were aided by our anthropologists, Jessica Winegar and Reem Saad, and our own anthropological training.
Below is a video that combines video from Al Jazeera and audio from select NPR talk shows. Together, they show the varying perspectives and images of the Egyptian Revolution.
What is gained from an anthropological analysis?
Using an anthropological analysis for this section provided us with deeper insights on the issues that all Egyptians are facing and a greater understanding of what everybody in the region is going through. This analysis provided us with the perspectives and opinions of groups that are not focused on in international news coverage. This is important because it gives agency to people who are often overlooked in the media. Another benefit of the insight of an anthropological analysis is the fact that these stories and perspectives can serve as a model for future revolutions. People can be inspired by the actions of revolutionaries and learn lessons from the Egyptian revolutionary experience. The anthropological perspective also provides personal stories of people involved in the revolution, which makes the issue easier to relate to and helps raise awareness of what is going on in Egypt.
We fully support the inclusion of the anthropological perspective in the analysis of this complex issue. The anthropological viewpoint helps address the concern over having all of the revolutionaries voices and claims heard. This is extremely important since all opinions need to be considered in the development of Egypt’s new government and constitution to avoid future revolutionary uprisings. This is important both for Egyptians, as well as Egypt’s political relations with all other countries since the way that the government respond’s attempts to address the revolutionary calls will likely be viewed with great scrutiny by Egyptian citizens and political forces around the world. The anthropological perspective provides in an in depth analysis and critique of the country’s current standing and how it should move into the future.
Click here to read about who is missing from the media’s depiction of the Egyptian Uprising.