The Arab Spring: Where Are the Swallows?

“In England, a swallow is the first sign of summer,” Wright says. “Hence we will discuss when will the Arab spring, representing potentiality, turn to summer, representing actuality, for the people of this region.” The speakers, who are married, were living in Egypt during the Egyptian Revolution and were based there during the past decade. The talk will focus on Egypt as an exemplar of the Arab Spring. The presentations will combine big-picture historical analysis with more personal, anecdotal insights. While the issues of what comes next are inevitably speculative, the couple will try to extrapolate from the multiple and often contradictory forces at play to suggest some possible outcomes. “By the end of the evening I would like the audience to see that the situation is a little more complex, subtle and interesting than they thought at the beginning,” Wright says.
The lecture is part of Westmont Downtown: Conversations about Things that Matter, which is sponsored by the Westmont Foundation. Seating is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis.

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hm 10/19/11