Den egyptiske revolution 2011 og det gode liv – en analyse af slogans og sange

Abstract

Artiklen analyserer forestillinger om det gode liv, som de kom til udtryk i udvalgte sange og slogans på Tahrir-pladsen under den egyptiske revolution i 2011. Det gode liv forstås i denne artikel i kontekst af moderne forståelser om social orden og individets plads heri. I artiklen beskrives det, hvordan livet før revolutionen blev set som et kuet liv i ydmygelse, mens livet under revolutionen blev set som et stolt liv i handlen. Herfra konkluderes det, at omdrejningspunktet i forestillingerne om det gode liv, som de kom til udtryk i slogans og sange under den egyptiske revolution, er agens.

The article analyses imaginaries of the good life as they were expressed in selected slogans and songs during the Egyptian revolution in 2011. In slogans and songs from the revolution, life before the revolution is described as a cowed life in humiliation whereas life during the revolution is described as a proud life where people can act on their own. From these descriptions, the article finds that agency is the focal point in the imaginaries of the good life as they were expressed in slogans and songs during the Egyptian revolution. Theoretically, the article takes its point of departure in theories of modernity and modern subjectivity formation. The article argues that the imaginaries of the good life expressed during the Egyptian revolution draws on global, modern imaginaries. These global imaginaries are, however, interpreted locally. By placing the Egyptian revolution and the slow social transformation it represents in a specific modern context, the article argues that it is indeed both possible and
fruitful to analyze Egyptian social matters as belonging to the modern social order.