Africa at Noon on September 24, 2014

Women, Art, and Revolution in the Streets of Egypt

Nevine El Nossery
Associate Professor, French and Italian
University of Wisconsin-Madison

Time and Location

12:00pm, 206 Ingra­ham Hall, 1155 Obser­va­tory Drive, Madi­son, WI

Description

The Egyptian Revolution has prompted women to find new means to cope with political and social despair. Graffiti and street performances are powerful tools to strategically raise awareness, lobby for equity, and advocate women’s empowerment, as they offer innovative alternatives to traditional artistic and media channels, witnessing the birth of what I am tempted to call a “parallel revolution,” unfolding underground and mainly led by women.

Bio

Névine El Nossery is Associate Professor of French and Francophone Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her research interests and teaching include North African and French Canadian literatures, women writing, photo-texts, graffiti, trauma fiction, and Middle-Eastern literature and culture. She is the author of the following books: The Unspeakable: Representations of Trauma in Francophone Literature and Art, 2013 (co-edited volume); Témoignages fictionnels au féminin. Une réécriture des blancs de la guerre civile algérienne, 2012; Frictions et devenirs dans les écritures migrantes au féminin. Enracinement et renégociation, 2011 (co-edited volume)