Dateline: Mideast

Traditionally, when Americans think of Egypt, they think of King Tut and mummies, pyramids, ancient pharaohs and the Sphinx. Recent events, however, have made many realize that this sense of Egypt as a nation of the past is as misleading as thinking that American history stopped with the drafting of the Constitution. So this edition of the library blog will provide you with resources to help you feel more up to speed with contemporary Egyptian events and culture as well as those of other nations caught up in popular uprisings against their governments.

Library Resources

The library provides students and staff with some excellent resources that can help you find out more about different countries (World Geography) and keep up with current news while providing excellent context (Facts on File's World News Digest). You will need to provide a DACC user ID and password to access both resources.

Egypt

To get caught up on recent events in Egypt, both in terms of depth of coverage and high quality analysis, it pays to check out Al Jazeera English. Its Mideast location gives it a natural edge in covering developments. The English version of the network has gained a reputation as one of the best sources for international news, and for being a source that makes a serious effort to look at all sides of tough issues. Another excellent source for in-depth coverage and analysis is the BBC News site. This site also offers profiles of key figures, such as Hosni Mubarak and Omar Suleiman. To get a sense of the big picture regarding Egyptian history and the way in which current events connect to the past, take a look at this BBC timeline. 

An unfortunate element of the uprising in Egypt for archeological enthusiasts was the theft of several antiquities from various locations. Fortunately some artifacts have subsequently been returned or recovered, as reported in this Fox News report. For those who would like some pointers to online sites for exploring Egypt's rich historic heritage, here are some of the best: the Egyptian Collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, British Museum, the BBC's Egyptian History section and the history section of Tour Egypt.

Tunisia

Prior to events in Egypt, the citizens of Tunisia staged a successful uprising of their own after an unemployed young man, Mohamed Bouazizi, set himself ablaze in an act of desperate protest following persistent demands for bribes from government officials who otherwise refused to allow him to sell his vegetables in Sidi Bouzid. One day in December they took his goods and scales when he refused to pay and then beat him. When they refused his efforts to get them returned, he bought some gasoline and set himself on fire. The government's harsh response to initial protests inspired many more, leading ultimately to President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali stepping down.This BBC page can catch you up on events in Tunis. This New York Times article offers interesting evidence about how organizers in Egypt and Tunisia worked together to plan the revolutions that to many Western observers seemed spontaneous. If you would just like to find out more about Tunisia in general because, like most Americans you aren't even really sure where it is, you can find an up to date country profile on the BBC web site. The U.S. State Department's national profile is not as current, but is more detailed regarding the information it does provide.

Other Parts of the Region

The small island nation of Bahrain is now in the spotlight, as are Libya and Yemen. Click on the country names to go to country profiles for each. The BBC provides this analysis of the current situation in the Mideast. On CNN's International edition, the Inside the Middle East Blog offers a series of thoughtful posts on ongoing events.

Foreign Correspondents

One final note. If you have been following the news coverage of these events, you have probably heard something about Lara Logan, the CBS News reporter who was sexually assaulted while covering the victory celebrations in Egypt. To get a good sense of the larger context of the risks foreign correspondents, especially female foreign correspondents, take when providing us with the news about important world events, see Suzi Parker's essay in Politics Daily. This 2007 essay by Judith Matloff in Columbia Journalism Review also addresses this largely concealed aspect of the very real dangers these men and women face. And in an essay in U.S. News, Susan Milligan addresses those who have raised the question of whether Logan should have been in Egypt at all.