By 19.2.2024 6 PM, post your end-of-course reflection on key learnings, growth as a writer, and future applications of skills developed on the blog.
writing seminar, submit your final polished 15–18 page paper
First deadline: 5.2.2024 6 PM; second deadline: 12.2.2024 6 PM.
Format: PDF to my @fu-berlin.de mail address from your @fu-berlin.de (or @zedat) mail address.
writing seminar, presentation for session #22: writing for broader impacts & dissemination strategies
writing seminar, essay on the power of citations and the diversity of narration in academic writing
Academic writing conventions often portray citation as a tactical tool for establishing scholarly credibility. By citing prominent theorists, we exhibit fluency in the field’s conceptual lexicon. Yet this narrow view of citation as intellectual credentialing overlooks its deeper rhetorical and relational significance. Beyond just demonstrating credibility, the act of citing contains generative power to validate marginalized perspectives, spur intersubjective dialogues, and catalyze theoretical evolution.
A traditional perspective sees citation as a one-way street of knowledge transmission – consuming information from past luminaries to buttress one’s own claims. However, TRUE citation functions cooperatively and dynamically. It not only extracts ideas from cited texts, but expands their insights by bringing them into conversation with new contexts. Diverse voices “think with” and through each other across time and space via citation. The most profound citations utilize the wisdom of past thinkers not as rigid dogma, but as kindling to spark new, contextually-attuned interpretations.
Likewise, the political and ethical dimensions of citation extend far beyond intellectual credibility. Strategic references validate the experiences of marginalized groups and highlight counter-canons excluded from mainstream citations narratives. Rather than always citing the “biggest names,” responsible citation uplifts oppressed peoples’ situated knowledge. It recenters dialogues around perspectives often denied seats at the academic table. Moreover, mindful citation acknowledges the inherent subjectivity and partiality of knowledge claims. It eschews portraying any scholarship – including one’s own – as detached, universal truth. Citation implicates ourselves within nested intersubjective discourses, not above them.
At its deepest level, citation is an act of generative relationality. It draws dispersed insights into fertile contact, gesturing toward possibilities greater than the sum of their parts. Like adding new hues to a palette, calibrated citations enrich the shades of meaning in academic conversations. Through cascading processes of acknowledgment, referral, and exchange, citation interweaves texts and thinkers. It enables accumulation not of discrete ideas but of shared resonance across difference. In this sense, thoughtful citation enacts ecological reciprocity: cycling accumulated wisdom through ongoing cycles of renewal, recontextualization, and replenishment.
By moving past it’s framing as a tactical credentialling maneuver, we can reclaim citation’s tremendous power – to validate multiplicity, to convene excluded voices, to hold knowledge as situated, to take up the wisdom of others as kindling for new insights. Citation as generative, intersubjective, cooperative. Citation as the heartbeat of evolving theoretical ecosystems. With this expanded vision, our citational practices deepen from displays of intellectual authority toward profound expressions of inclusive scholarly community.
writing seminar, 4 + 1 variations of writing on the same topic with different citation and narrative styles
A
The Role of Public Space in Social Movements in the Middle East
The nexus between power and place manifests vividly in the context of public spaces within Middle Eastern social movements. As Michel Foucault explored, power dynamics become embedded into the very construction of space, with public squares and streets operating as physical loci where authority intersects with resistance (Foucault, 1977). As loci where authoritative structures intersect with communal action, civic squares, streets, and parks comprise unique stages upon which the drama of dissent unfolds. Though temporal in their tangibility, these sites of assembly solidify into anchors of collective identity, liberated loci where counter-hegemonies crystallize against regimes of control.
Yet public spaces signify more than physical venues of protest; they emerge as arenas where social contracts are contested, and new vocabularies of change articulated. Within their bounds, authority stands subject to interrogation as dissenters transform designated zones of conformity into centers of nonviolent resistance. As Habermas theorized the “public sphere” (Habermas, 1991), spectacles like Tahrir ignite globally not just for their marbled monuments but for their now-hallowed capacity to focus fledgling hopes for reform through nonviolent action, a process Hannah Arendt positioned as central to claiming political freedom (Arendt, 1958).
However, a reductive binary of oppression versus liberation inadequately captures the nuances within. For beyond its surface narrative of conflict exists a deeper substratum where power relations entangle in less visible ways. Take gender as one salient example—while women stand undeniably at the vanguard of regional reform efforts today, public space in traditional Middle Eastern contexts conferred male privilege, delimiting feminine access and visibility. As Bourdieu would note, public squares can operate as social fields that reinforce gender hierarchies by constraining women’s social capital and agency (Bourdieu, 1985).
Thus, modern protest forums precipitate new paradoxes—liberating yet potentially perilous all at once. By occupying civic squares, female activists gain greater authorship over political processes from which they historically stood excluded, yet concurrently court intensified threats of assault as normative protections weaken. In transforming public space, they transform themselves through “acts of creative dissent” (Arendt, 1958), destabilizing gendered spatial conventions—a profoundly disruptive ripple effect. Still, such changes neither linear nor universal, but variegated across both time and place as protest movements evolve.
Nor are spaces static backdrops against which dramas unfold; they emerge as fluid, reciprocal drivers, actively shaping the contours of mobilization. As an enduring artifact of colonial urban planning, the central plaza imports a Western spatial paradigm into Middle Eastern cities, its rational gridiron geometries often sitting at odds with the surrounding Medina’s crooked alleys—an enduring imprint of hegemonic power on regional capitals. Thus, dissent against local rule today equally channels deep residues of resistance against historical foreign domination. As sites of intersection between state authority and public agency (Weber, 1978), territorial control over such space’s factors centrally into social movements’ capacity to challenge power hierarchies.
Equally, while virtual spaces afford alternate venues for coordination, physical loci like Liberty/Tahrir Square focalize imagination in site-specific ways no pixelated forum can wholly replicate. In rendering gathering visible, such epicenters invest collective action with bodily solidarity that galvanizes risk against repressive retaliation. Ultimately public spaces’ role within Middle Eastern social movements reveals multiplicities; they at once liberate and endanger, include and exclude, channel both contemporary resistance and enduring historical grievances. Simple binaries of oppression versus dissent fail to capture their nuances. Rather public squares emerge as complex topographies—fulcrum points between authority and freedom where power stands openly contested, yet concurrently zones of everyday collision between identities and structures long interwoven into surrounding cityscapes. It is at this messy intersection between enduring tensions and emerging solidarities, place and process, contingency and durability, that social movements stake their claim over Middle Eastern futures still in formation. The outcomes remain unpredictably fluid, but hardly indifferent to the spaces now explosively reclaimed in dissent’s name.
B
The Role of Public Space in Social Movements in the Middle East
Public spaces have long nurtured collective dissent within Middle Eastern social movements, though often indirectly. As Asef Bayat examined with his concept of “quiet encroachment,” regimes have pushed resistance out of formal plazas into informal networks cultivated in back alleys, cafés, and makeshift spots escaping direct surveillance (Bayat, 1997). Here oppressed groups slowly strengthen solidarity out of sight, crystallizing the roots of organized dissent over years through quiet preparation rather than sudden spectacle.
Their strength owes partly to the unbounded nature of such spaces, as Doreen Massey illuminated (Massey, 2005). In contrast to policed plazas, the everyday “throwntogetherness” of winding souks and streets foments crucial social collisions outside regimes’ control. Through years of chance encounters, shared rituals, and small habitual defiance in market stalls and cafés, collective dissent gradually coalesces among unlikely allies excluded from formal participation.
Therefore, while sites like Tahrir Square dramatically stage regional uprisings for global consumption, localized informal networks actually laid their groundwork. Oppressed groups first carefully strengthened resilience through everyday spaces and solidarities: cooperating in tucked-away kitchens, coordinating covertly in back alleys via coded slang, consolidating trust through casual gossip in the neighborhood’s shadowy margins (Bayat, 1997). From such seeds nurtured in informality, organized mass dissent flowered overnight once triggering events tipped boiling tensions into open confrontation. The global spotlight captured scenes of vast unified dissent in avenues and plazas—yet these gatherings emerged from far more clandestine histories of resilience building slowly in spaces unseen.
However, the role of public space in movements remains deeply gendered, enforcing control over feminine access as Lila Abu-Lughod observed (Abu-Lughod, 2002). Thus, while the Arab Spring sparked euphoric solidarity, it also erupted in spaces lacking protections for women’s visibility and mobility. Conservative forces seized opportunities for intensified public harassment, assault, and victim-blaming to deter female participation, punishing boldness with bodily violence (Selek, 2011). Yet women’s long secreted histories in private spheres also cultivated vital skills in non-official networks, care ethics, and everyday resistance (Noddings, 2013). Leveraging these resources, many persevered despite threats, discovering wellsprings of solidarity through collaborative resilience in spaces both intimate and mass. Though uprisings commonly spotlight male voices, female activists’ incremental advances through informal networks may ultimately transform gender hierarchies more lastingly.
Consequently, public spaces’ contours shape and get shaped by intersecting identity, memory, and resistance accumulated over years unnoticed before erupting openly. As complex fulcrums between oppression and hope, they surface the outcomes of quieter struggles and solidarities slowly built through everyday spaces, rituals, and alliances beyond authorities’ direct control. Tracing movements’ overt stages alone misses deeper wells of solidarity and care nurtured through mundane yet transformative grassroots spaces in Middle Eastern cities.
C
The Role of Public Space in Social Movements in the Middle East
The story of social movements often begins far from the limelight of public squares, in the quiet, unnoticed corners of cities. Walaa Abdelrahman, an Alexandrian dissident, recollects the early whispers of rebellion, “We’d meet quietly in friends’ homes, whispering plans behind drawn curtains while watching the streets outside for spies” (Abdelrahman, 2019). These clandestine gatherings, nestled in the intimate crevices of the city, were the nurturing grounds for dissent, away from the prying eyes of authority. It was in these unassuming spaces that the seeds of revolution took root, gradually and silently. Bahia Shehab, through her “A Thousand Times No” street art, captures this gradual emergence, illustrating how revolution seeps through society’s veins before bursting into the open (Shehab, 2011). It’s a process of accumulation, where places like football fan clubs, local cafés, and neighborhood presses become the quiet epicenters of a growing storm of resistance, buzzing with the low hum of revolutionary fervor (Abaza, 2013).
While the world’s attention was fixed on iconic locations like Tahrir Square, the real undercurrents of resistance were flowing through a complex network of less visible spaces. To focus solely on public protests is to overlook these vital channels of solidarity that formed in society’s more hidden venues. Abdelrahman’s reflection captures this essence, highlighting how resistance is often a slow, growing current that builds momentum in the obscured nooks of society (Abdelrahman, 2019).
Women’s roles in these movements provide a particularly poignant example of this hidden resilience. The anonymous writings on “Women Living Under Muslim Laws” shed light on the struggles women faced within the confines of their homes, battling for their rights and autonomy long before the public uprisings (WLUML, 2011). These private battles laid the groundwork for the visible, public acts of resistance that would follow. As the uprisings unfolded, women drew upon these deep reserves of strength and solidarity. Despite facing heightened retaliation, they stepped into the public sphere, their organizing skills and bravery propelling the movements forward. Figures like Asmaa Mahfouz, a teenage martyr, exemplify the vital role of women in sustaining the momentum of these movements during their most perilous moments (WLUML, 2011).
The emergence of dissent and social movements is a complex process, often taking shape far from the gaze of the ruling elite. It’s a gradual accumulation of forces, a building of pressure in the societal underbelly that often goes unnoticed until it erupts into public view. This eruption, though sudden to the onlooker, is the result of a long, slow build-up of tension and solidarity. Public spaces, in this context, are merely the visible crest of a much larger wave of change that has been forming out of sight. To truly understand the dynamics of social movements, one must look beyond the obvious, visible manifestations in public squares. It’s in the quiet, unobserved places where the initial stirrings of change begin, where the slow churn of dissent gathers strength. These underground currents, these whispers of resistance, are the true harbingers of the social and political transformations to come.
D
The Role of Public Space in Social Movements in the Middle East
Under the ominous haze of authoritarian rule, public spaces fall mute, severed from communal currents and caged behind social barriers erected to dominate the landscape. Yet repression’s facades harbor hollows where solidarity takes root unseen, new visions incubating in societies’ overlooked crevices. Here dialogues gather depth, embedded rituals renewing people’s sense of shared destiny and purpose even as regimes deny such discourses breathing room in plain sight.
When emergency response teams are barred from aiding innocents injured amid violent retaliation, makeshift medics emerge spontaneously from neighborhoods to fill the void, ordinary individuals evolving into vessels for extraordinary compassion directed toward suffering strangers. What spectator lenses cannot reveal is how the courage fueling such acts stems not solely from sudden sympathy but from generations of cultivated human bonds nurtured through common spaces outside authority’s grasp. Though hidden beyond surface sight, continuous circulation of such currents has etched alternative conceptions of justice and community accountability into cultural bedrock.
Thus, when calamity opens chances to reclaim public space, people symbolically resuscitate these dormant visions that have lingered in collective memory through decades of suppression. Impromptu monuments spring up overnight to commemorate loss, transforming sterile architecture into reliquaries for public mourning honoring those robbed of dignity in death. Streets rename themselves, asserting popular conceptions of access and mobility against hegemonic enforced narratives etched into the literal concrete itself. Spectacular scenes capture global attention briefly before focus fades. But the cultural transformations seeded in such revolutionary openings stretch on as new networks branch out and sink roots within private realms shielded from view.
Away from media spotlights stand quiet memorials woven into neighborhoods’ fabric where residents collectively sanctify loss through candlelit rituals animated by songs of resilience – ballads once banned from public stages but passed secretly through generations until this moment of emancipation. Makeshift classrooms convene in trusted homes, nourished by donated books salvaged from regimes’ failed bureaus, teachers sharing hard-won knowledge freely to fossilize new visions in students’ hearts. Though no scholars scrutinize such subtle scenes, still the solitary moments mold mentalities, resilience and moral courage calcifying inadvertently through care’s continuous circulation in spheres sealed off from authoritarian writ.
As prior conceptions of identity and access atrophy behind high institutional walls, alternative social visions germinate in overlooked spaces through yearly cycles of communal care. When crisis tears down barriers, these seeds of solidarity and empathy abruptly unfurl into public view. But the blossoms soon scatter once more, leaving the fruits of resistance to mature slowly in society’s soil, cultivating the next season’s dormant buds holding hope of social transformation yet to fully unfold.
E
The Role of Public Space in Social Movements in the Middle East
Under the ominous haze of authoritarian rule, public spaces fall mute, severed from communal currents and caged behind social barriers erected to dominate the landscape (Habermas’ public sphere theory). Yet repression’s facades harbor hollows where solidarity takes root unseen, new visions incubating in societies’ overlooked crevices (de Certeau’s theories of everyday resistance). Here dialogues gather depth, embedded rituals renewing people’s sense of shared destiny and purpose even as regimes deny such discourses breathing room in plain sight.
When emergency response teams are barred from aiding innocents injured amid violent retaliation, makeshift medics emerge spontaneously from neighborhoods to fill the void, ordinary individuals evolving into vessels for extraordinary compassion directed toward suffering strangers (de Certeau’s everyday resistance). What spectator lenses cannot reveal is how the courage fueling such acts stems not solely from sudden sympathy but from generations of cultivated human bonds nurtured through common spaces outside authority’s grasp (Habermas’ public sphere theory). Though hidden beyond surface sight, continuous circulation of such currents has etched alternative conceptions of justice and community accountability into cultural bedrock (Lefebvre’s representational spaces).
Thus, when calamity opens chances to reclaim public space, people symbolically resuscitate these dormant visions that have lingered in collective memory through decades of suppression (Lefebvre’s representational spaces). Impromptu monuments spring up overnight to commemorate loss, transforming sterile architecture into reliquaries for public mourning honoring those robbed of dignity in death (Lefebvre’s representational spaces). Streets rename themselves, asserting popular conceptions of access and mobility against hegemonic enforced narratives etched into the literal concrete itself (Lefebvre’s representational spaces). Spectacular scenes capture global attention briefly before focus fades. But the cultural transformations seeded in such revolutionary openings stretch on as new networks branch out and sink roots within private realms shielded from view (Habermas’ public sphere theory, de Certeau’s everyday resistance).
Away from media spotlights stand quiet memorials woven into neighborhoods’ fabric where residents collectively sanctify loss through candlelit rituals animated by songs of resilience – ballads once banned from public stages but passed secretly through generations until this moment of emancipation (Lefebvre’s representational spaces). Makeshift classrooms convene in trusted homes, nourished by donated books salvaged from regimes’ failed bureaus (de Certeau’s everyday resistance), teachers sharing hard-won knowledge freely to fossilize new visions in students’ hearts (de Certeau’s everyday resistance). Though no scholars scrutinize such subtle scenes, still the solitary moments mold mentalities, resilience and moral courage calcifying inadvertently through care’s continuous circulation in spheres sealed off from authoritarian writ (de Certeau’s everyday resistance).
As prior conceptions of identity and access atrophy behind high institutional walls (Lefebvre’s representational spaces), alternative social visions germinate in overlooked spaces through yearly cycles of communal care (de Certeau’s everyday resistance). When crisis tears down barriers, these seeds of solidarity and empathy abruptly unfurl into public view. But the blossoms soon scatter once more, leaving the fruits of resistance to mature slowly in society’s soil, cultivating the next season’s dormant buds holding hope of social transformation yet to fully unfold (Lefebvre’s representational spaces).
writing seminar, task for session #13: dissemination strategies
Prepare brief remarks on your goals for reaching readers most interested in your paper’s contribution by Thursday 18.1.2024 6 PM.
writing seminar, task for session #13: writing and revising for broader impact
Find an example of an academic article or other scholarly work that also engages broader audiences through supplementary writings, translations, presentations, etc. Come prepared to discuss how it extends the research impact. Look at your own paper topic and think of 2–3 ways the core findings or ideas could be reframed and translated for non-academic audiences.
All by Thursday 18.1.2024 6 PM.
writing seminar, task #10 (deadline January 4)
Finalize your first draft. Revise the paper’s framing and structure to demonstrate value to readers. Rewrite your introduction to strengthen the reader-centered focus on establishing value.
All by Thursday 4.1.2024 6 PM.
REMEMBER, we will NOT meet on campus on January 8 for this course; ideally, you have more time to write and research your topics.
writing seminar, essay on the subjectivity hidden in academic ‘objectivity’ – unveiling the masquerade
In the grand theater of academic writing, we’ve been sold tickets to a show titled ‘Objectivity.’ But as the curtain rises, we find ourselves witnessing a performance where subjective narrators, clad in the garb of neutrality, orchestrate a symphony of so-called unbiased truths. It’s a masquerade, dear readers, where the masks of objectivity barely conceal the human countenances underneath. Consider this an invitation to peek behind the curtain, where the subjective orchestrators wield their pens. It’s here, in the dimly lit corners of the writer’s mind, where personal experiences and cultural influences choreograph the ballet of ‘facts’ and ‘findings’. This is not to discredit the performance, but to appreciate the artistry and human essence that underpin it.
Let’s ponder this: When a scholar writes about the socio-political dynamics of the Middle East, do we not detect the faintest hue of personal perspective, tinted by their experiences, biases, and the very zeitgeist they breathe in? Each word chosen, each fact highlighted, is akin to a brush stroke on a canvas, painting not just a picture of the world, but of the painter as well. Take, for example, the writings on the Arab Spring. Each analysis, whether hailing the uprisings as a democratizing force or criticizing them as destabilizing, tells as much about the author’s political stance as it does about the events themselves. The Middle Eastern canvas is never neutral; it is imbued with the colors of the writer’s own ideological palette.
Consider the historian dissecting events of yesteryears. Can they truly extricate their today from the yesterday they write about? The past is often a mirror reflecting our current beliefs and biases. Our historian, in their quest to present an ‘objective’ account, inadvertently weaves a tapestry rich with the threads of their own temporal and cultural fabric. Edward Said’s seminal work, ‘Orientalism,’ serves as a prime example. It challenges the Western historical narrative on the East, revealing how these accounts were less about the East itself and more about the West’s perception of it. Said’s critique underscores how even historical analysis is a product of its time, shaped by contemporary cultural and political contexts.
Dive deeper into the scientific realms, and the waters get murkier. The scientist, with their beakers and numbers, claims a monopoly on objectivity. But isn’t the choice of what to study, what variables to consider, and what constitutes ‘significant data’ a subjective decision? The path from hypothesis to conclusion is not a straight line but a meandering river, guided by the scientist’s own biases and assumptions. Consider Thomas Kuhn’s assertion in ‘The Structure of Scientific Revolutions’ that scientific progress is marked by paradigm shifts rather than cumulative advancements. This perspective suggests that scientific ‘truths’ are often reframed by new paradigms, shaped as much by the scientific community’s prevailing beliefs as by empirical evidence. The very act of choosing a research topic is influenced by subjective factors – what the scientific community deems important or what society prioritizes.
Now, let’s not forget the ethicist, perched on their philosophical pedestal, proclaiming moral truths. Even in their lofty proclamations, the whispers of personal morality echo. Ethics, dressed in the garb of universal truths, often turns out to be a cultural narrative, shaped by the philosopher’s own societal norms and personal experiences. Reflect on the divergent paths of Kantian deontology and Mill’s utilitarianism. While Kant emphasizes duty and universal moral laws, Mill advocates for the greatest happiness principle. These contrasting views don’t just outline ethical frameworks; they reveal the philosophers’ own perceptions of human nature and society. The philosophical debates around ethics thus become windows into the souls of those who argue them, tinted with their cultural backgrounds and personal convictions.
What of literature, you ask? Ah, literature! It unabashedly revels in subjectivity, yet even here, critics mask their interpretations as ‘definitive readings.’ Each analysis is but a reflection of the critic’s mind, a subjective journey through the text, masquerading as an objective exploration. The subjective nature of literary criticism becomes evident when we compare different interpretations of the same text. Take Shakespeare’s ‘Hamlet,’ for instance. Is it a tale of tragic indecision, a study in madness, or a political commentary on power and corruption? Each critic’s interpretation is a mosaic of their educational background, personal beliefs, and the critical theories they align with, illustrating that literature is a mirror reflecting the myriad faces of its interpreters.
Amidst this dance of subjectivity, there’s a golden thread that guides us through the labyrinth of academic writing. It’s not the quest for unattainable objectivity but the pursuit of traceability. Academic writing, at its core, is about laying a breadcrumb trail of thoughts and references, allowing readers to trace the journey of the author’s reasoning. It’s less about erasing the author’s footprint and more about making those footprints clear and discernible. Rachel Carson’s ‘Silent Spring’ epitomizes this principle of traceability. Her groundbreaking work on the environmental impact of pesticides didn’t just present a scientific argument; it provided a map of her research journey, complete with references and methodologies. This transparency allowed readers to follow her thought process, challenge her conclusions, and embark on their own journeys of discovery. Thus, traceability in academic writing serves not just as a beacon of clarity, but as an invitation to dialogue and exploration.
In every academic piece,, the writer leaves a trail. This trail includes the insights gathered, the methodologies applied, the data scrutinized, and the references consulted. Traceability is the map that readers use to navigate the writer’s intellectual terrain. It provides transparency, allowing readers to see the ‘how’ and ‘why’ behind each conclusion drawn, each theory proposed.
The strength of an academic argument lies in its ability to be followed, questioned, and understood. When a scholar cites sources, they’re not just bolstering their argument; they’re providing coordinates for readers to find the same information and potentially draw their own conclusions. When a scientist details their experimental procedure, they’re not just showcasing their methodology; they’re inviting others to replicate or challenge their findings. In essence, traceability is the backbone of academic integrity and scholarly dialogue.
So here we are, in this grand masquerade ball of academia, where everyone is both a spectator and a performer. The masks of objectivity are donned, but the eyes behind them sparkle with personal narratives, beliefs, and biases. And as I pen down these thoughts, my own mask slips slightly. Yes, even this critique is not devoid of subjectivity. I, too, am dancing at this ball, my steps choreographed by my experiences, my views, and yes, my biases.
But fear not, for there is beauty in this revelation. It is in the acceptance of subjectivity that we find authenticity. Let us embrace this dance of perspectives, for it is here, in the acknowledgment of our subjective selves, that intellectual exploration begins. In the end, the show of ‘Objectivity’ is but an illusion. We are all subjective beings, trying to make sense of the world through our tinted lenses. And perhaps, in this realization lies the path to a deeper understanding, not just of the world we study, but of ourselves as well.