https://padlet.com/jstyre/ewrwws6krtq3k51c #thisisegypt en-us 2020-07-01 19:01:44 UTC 2024-06-06 09:57:22 UTC hello@padlet.com jstyre https://padlet.com/jstyre/ewrwws6krtq3k51c/wish/650275370 1. How important is cultural or historical context to the production and reception of a text?
2. How do we approach texts from different times and cultures to our own?
3. To what extent do texts offer insight into another culture?]]> 2020-07-08 16:48:41 UTC https://padlet.com/jstyre/ewrwws6krtq3k51c/wish/650275370 jstyre https://padlet.com/jstyre/ewrwws6krtq3k51c/wish/650279204 A modern dystopian (translated from Arabic), written after a 2012 uprising in Egypt, AbdelAziz's novel touches on notes of a government vs. people. Citizens are forced to do things they never considered in order to live their lives peacefully.

The recent Arab Spring and dominance of totalitarian governments in the Middle East provide a frightening realistic backdrop to the events in the novel.

The universal struggle between those in power and those who are forcibly oppressed makes AbdelAziz's tale one that is accessible to all readers, whether they have lived in such situations or simply read about them or watched them unfold on TV.]]> 2020-07-08 16:54:11 UTC https://padlet.com/jstyre/ewrwws6krtq3k51c/wish/650279204 jstyre https://padlet.com/jstyre/ewrwws6krtq3k51c/wish/650288564 'The Square' is an observational documentary that tells the story of the ongoing struggle of the Egyptian Revolution through the eyes of six very different protesters. 

Starting in the tents of Tahrir in the days leading up to the fall of Mubarak, the film follows characters on a life-changing journey through the euphoria of victory into the uncertainties and dangers of a transitional period under military rule, where everything they fought for is either under threat or imbalanced.]]> 2020-07-08 17:06:22 UTC https://padlet.com/jstyre/ewrwws6krtq3k51c/wish/650288564 jstyre https://padlet.com/jstyre/ewrwws6krtq3k51c/wish/650307495 What's the official word on the Egyptian experience today? 
Browse their official tourism authority. Plan your trip.
The #thisisegypt promotional campaign won the best tourism promo video in the Middle East in the 2017 World Tourism Organization competition.]]> 2020-07-08 17:28:19 UTC https://padlet.com/jstyre/ewrwws6krtq3k51c/wish/650307495 jstyre https://padlet.com/jstyre/ewrwws6krtq3k51c/wish/650314620 2020-07-08 17:38:00 UTC https://padlet.com/jstyre/ewrwws6krtq3k51c/wish/650314620 jstyre https://padlet.com/jstyre/ewrwws6krtq3k51c/wish/650336641 Lonely Planet Article]]> 2020-07-08 18:06:11 UTC https://padlet.com/jstyre/ewrwws6krtq3k51c/wish/650336641 jstyre https://padlet.com/jstyre/ewrwws6krtq3k51c/wish/650339357 This unit will be used to promote discussion about fictional dystopian societies as based on real current and past power struggles in Egypt and time permitting, on a more global/universal scale.

Approaches to Teaching and Learning I would like students to work in teams at the beginning of the unit to discuss stereotypes and images of Egypt that come to mind - a tie-in to the conceptual questions concerning how much we know about Egypt and how. 

I'd like students to do some research using the hashtag thisisegypt and see if they uncover not only the pretty touristic side of Egypt, as portrayed on their official tourism sites and in social media, but how the tourism hashtag backfired and unearthed an undesirable underbelly of social, political and economic problems that continue today. 

I will also have students read and lead discussions on topics on the Amnesty International website.

The literary text/novel itself is a fantastic, easy read with complex themes and discussions. One that every students should have opinions on. I'd like to have them do a Socratic seminar on that. I'd also like to use the novel to explore the element of structure, as it is particular. In addition, there is a real Egyptian flavour to the novel because of the words left untranslated - great opportunities for analysis and discussion.  It is a work in translation, from 2012, and is not on the PRL, so is my free choice.

I'd like to pair it with an award-winning documentary, The Square.  This will be a fabulous non-literary pairing, because of the sense of disillusionment with those in power and the sense of "Now what do we do?" as power struggles result in prolonged periods of uncertainty and transition. This can be seen in the film and the novel (and beyond!).

In addition to our discussions on how the Egyptian authorities portray the public face of Egypt, I'd like to use a Lonely Planet Article on Egypt as our Paper 1 Assessment for this unit. 



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