Urbanity and Insurrection: Cities of the Arab Spring

The Arab uprisings took place primarily in the urban centers. What does the urban locus of the revolts tell us about their origins and dynamics? What aspects of urbanity render cities the spaces of contention? And why certain urban sites, streets or squares become, more than others, insurgent space? Focusing on some key cities in the region, Prof. Bayat will discuss the logic of contention in the urban Middle East and examine the dynamics of revolutionary mobilization in the Arab spring.

Respondents: Omid Safi (Duke), Charles Kurzman (UNC)