History 257 - The Arab Spring

This course will explore the nature of the uprisings that began in 2010 in Tunisia and ultimately swept through Libya, Egypt, Syria, Yemen, to Bahrain. We will ask why these events took place, when and where they did, why the outcomes have differed so widely, why monarchies emerged unscathed, and why authoritarian rule proved so durable. We will pay close attention to the voices of protest from this period as well as the role of social media as a mobilizing factor. Two class meetings per week.

Spring semester. John J. McCloy ’16 Visiting Professor Simon.