LibGuides: Current Events Guide to Political and Social Change in the Arab World : Library Resources

Library of Congress Subject Headings on Arab Countries

Using Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) the following are links to resources about Arab countries in the Middle East and North Africa. The headings are listed by country name in alphabetical order (A-Z) and encompass historically focused resources in the University of Illinois Library collections that pertain to democracy, history, politics and government, and fictional works for each country listed.

Library users can combine a number of subject headings to return different results! Try combining words, or topics of interest with country names to perform searches on the Library catalog.

Films

Roots of the Egyptian Revolutionary Moment (2011)
An interview with Mohammed Ezzeldin, a graduate of political science from Cairo University. He is currently pursuing his masters' degree in History at Georgetown University.

This section includes films related to the social, economic, and political conditions within various countries of the Arab world. They are arranged by date, most recent to oldest.

Class of 2006 (2006)
50 women pioneers are among the first contemporary group of women to be officially trained as religious leaders in the Arab world. Empowered to do everything that male imams do -- except lead Friday prayer in a mosque...
Viva Algeria (2004)
"Three women: a mother, her daughter, and a prostitute have been living in a hotel in the center of town amid creeping fundamentalism. Goucem, the daughter, has chosen a modern, emancipated life, spending steamy weekends in nightclubs..."
Algeria's Bloody Years (2003)
Chronicles Algeria's struggle for democracy since independence from France.
Arab Diaries (2001)
Five-part documentary series about contemporary life across the Arab world, with a focus on women's stories.
Four Women of Egypt (1997, 2006)
Four Egyptian women...Muslim, Christian, Jewish or non-religious, their visions of society range from wanting a secular or socialist state to an Islamic one. These friends, deeply committed, argue openly, without ever breaking the bond that unites them.
Mon Coeur est Témoin (My Heart is My Witness) (1996)
Dramatization of correspondence and interviews with women from Africa and the Middle East about the condition of women in their countries.
Algeria: Women at War (1992)
Some "Mudjahadines", the women fighters during the war of Independence from the French (1954-1962), recall their own experiences: their hopes and their disillusion after the war, when the Government refused to recognize their role and contribution to the National Liberation Movement.
The Oil Kingdoms (1983)
Looks at the history of five small countries in the Persian Gulf--Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman--and their transformation from Biblical times to today's extremely wealthy societies.
Battle of Algiers (1965, 2004)
Focuses on the harrowing events of 1957, a key year in Algeria's struggle for independence from France. Recreates the tumultuous Algerian uprising against the occupying French in the 1950s. As violence escalates on both sides, the French torture prisoners for information and the Algerians resort to terrorism in their quest for independence. Children shoot soldiers at point-blank range, women plant bombs in cafés.

E-Resources

Abstracts and Indexes

Historical Abstracts Indexes historical articles on historical topics from 1450 to the present. In addition to including the key historical journals from virtually every major country, Historical Abstracts includes a targeted selection of hundreds of journals in the social sciences and humanities that are of special interest to researchers and students of history.

Index to Jewish Periodicals A comprehensive guide to articles, book reviews, feature stories, and other content in more than 200 periodicals devoted to Jewish affairs.

Middle East: Abstracts and Index Coverage from 1978 to 2009. Located in teh Main Library and Oak Street Facility. Call Number: 016.95605.

RAMBI: Index of articles on Jewish studies Indexes scholarly articles coverign Jewish studies and Israel. The writings may be in Hebrew, Yiddish, and European languages and mostly reflect the Jewish National and University Library in Jerusalem.

Social Sciences Citation Index Information from 3,000 of the world's leading social science journals, covering 50 disciplines including anthropology, business and communication, criminology, library and information sciences, law, urban studies, etc.

Databases

ALTA Religion Database Major index to journal articles, book reviews, and essay collections in the field of religion.

Statistical Insight (ProQuest) - Provides government statistics, business, trade, and research information, and private and international statistical information. U.S. government statistics go back to 1973 and private and state sources go back to 1980.

E-Journals

Index Islamicus Indexes periodicals and articles in teh field of Islam. Other jouranls are indexed only for articles on Islamic subjects.

Online Reference Tools

Encyclopaedia of Islam Enclyclopaedia of Islam has long been the definitive publication covering the whole scope of Islamic religion, life, and culture.

Europa World Plus The Europa World Plus page on the Middle East and North Africa includes resources such as a map, calendar of political events from Oct. 2011 to Sept. 2012, and links to regional organizations and countries. Books on the Middle East & Books on North Africa.

Project MUSE Project MUSE is a leading provider of digital humanities and social sciences content; since 1995, its electronic journal collections have supported a wide array of research needs at academic, public, special, and school libraries worldwide. MUSE books and journals, from leading university presses and scholarly societies, are fully integrated for search and discovery.MUSE currently includes 267,032 articles and 464,809 chapters by 197 publishers.

Portals

Oxford Islamic Studies Online Oxford Islamic Studies Online brings together the best current scholarship in the field to foster a more accurate and informed understanding of teh Islamic world. Encompassing over 5,000 A-Z reference entries, chapters from scholarly and introductory works, Qur'anic materials, primary sources, images, maps, and timelines.

Relevant UIUC library libguides

Arab-Israeli Conflict
by Teaching, Learning, and Academic Support Library Last Updated Nov 9, 2023 106 views this year
Arabic Language Materials at the UIUC Library
by International and Area Studies Library Last Updated Nov 9, 2023 123 views this year

Libguides from other university libraries

Brown University Library - The Arab Spring 2011-present

Colorado State University Libraries - POLS449-Middle East Politics

Columbia College Stafford Library - History and Democracy of the Modern Middle East

Cornell University Library Guides - Arab Spring: A Research & Study Guide الربيع العربي

Duke University Libraries - Middle East and Islamic Studies

Georgetown Day School Estelle and Melvin Gelman Library - Democracy in teh Middle East Project

Naval Postgraduate School - Middle East Research Guide

Universities at Shady Grove Shannon and Michael Priddy Library - POLI 409: Transition to Democracy in the Middle East

University of Pittsburgh pitt.libguides - Middle East Studies and Research @ Pitt

Books of Interest on Arab Spring

After the spring : economic transitions in the Arab world by Amin, Magdi
Call Number: Request book to initiate purchase
ISBN: 9780199924929
Publication Date: 2012
The Arab Spring constitutes perhaps the most far-reaching political and economic transition since the end of communism in Europe. For too long, the economic aspirations of the people in the region, especially young people, have been ignored by leaders in Arab countries and abroad. Competingviews as to how best to meet these aspirations are now being debated in the region. The outcome will shape Arab societies for generations to come.The authors of this book argue that significant economic reforms must accompany the major political transitions that are underway. Although each country has a different economic structure and history and must make its own way forward, there are spill-overs from trade and investment linkages, thecontagion of news cycles, interaction of people and sharing of expectations that are too great to ignore. Some common foundation of the new Arab economies is needed. Towards that end, this volume addresses four central challenges of economic reform in the Arab world. First, with two-thirds of thepopulation under the age of 30, the disproportionate burdens of unemployment and poor education can no longer be heaped on youth. Second, while some government policies may have improved the living standards of Arab citizens in the past, they have also entrenched cronies, enriched a small elite, andbecome unaffordable. Third, if Arab economies are to compete in the 21st century they cannot depend solely on oil and gas money, remittances, and tourism, but will require active, independent private sectors. And finally, the relative isolation of Arab economies-both from each other and from the world-must end.Rather than providing specific lists of recommendations, this book sets forth a set of guidelines and priorities for reformers who will begin creating new opportunities for youth, rebuilding the institutions of the state, diversifying the private sector, and cooperating with each other and integrating with the world economy.
Arab spring dreams : the next generation speaks out for freedom and justice from North Africa to Iran by Ahmari, Sohrab | Weddady, Nasser
Call Number: 305.2350956 Ar114
ISBN: 9780230115927
Publication Date: 2012
From a gay man secretly mourning his lover's suicide in Morocco to a young woman denied schooling because of religious discrimination in Iran, Arab Spring Dreamsspotlights some of the Middle East's most outspoken young dissidents. The essayists cover a wide range of experiences, including premarital sex, the lack of educational opportunities, teenage marriage, and the fight for political freedom. They also highlight how repressive laws and cultural mores snuff out liberty and stifle growth and consider how previous movements - particularly the American civil rights struggle - might be channeled to effect change in their own countries.Beautifully written and profoundly moving, these stories present a decisive call for change at a crucial point in the evolution of the Middle East.
Arab Spring in Egypt : revolution and beyond by Korany, Bahgat. | El-Mahdi, Rabab
Call Number: JQ1850.A91 .A73 2012
ISBN: 9789774165368
Publication Date: 2012
Beginning in Tunisia, and spreading to as many as seventeen Arab countries, the street protests of the "Arab Spring" in 2011 empowered citizens and banished their fear of speaking out against governments. The Arab Spring belied Arab exceptionalism, widely assumed to be the natural state of stagnation in the Arab world amid global change and progress. The collapse in February 2011 of the regime in the region's most populous country, Egypt, led to key questions of why, how, and with what consequences did this occur?
Inspired by the "contentious politics" school and Social Movement Theory, Arab Spring in Egypt addresses these issues, examining the reasons behind the collapse of Egypt's authoritarian regime; analyzing the group dynamics in Tahrir Square of various factions: labor, youth, Islamists, and women; describing economic and external issues and comparing Egypt's transition with that of Indonesia; and reflecting on the challenges of transition.
A thousand farewells : a reporter's journey from refugee camp to the Arab spring by Ayed, Nahlah
Call Number: Copy claimed in Communications Library
ISBN: 9780670069095
Publication Date: 2012
Born in Canada to immigrant parents, raised in Jordan as a Palestinian refugee, award-winning CBC reporter for the Middle East, Nahlah Ayed offers a unique insider’s perspective to Canadians. When she was a child, Ayed’s parents made the fateful decision to move from Manitoba back to Jordan to ensure that their four children remained connected to their culture and heritage. For Nahlah and her siblings, it was a shocking change: they’d left their comfortable Winnipeg home for the squalor of a refugee camp in Amman. Living first in a tent, then in a concrete house, Ayed meets her extended family and learns of the sorrows of generations of displaced Palestinians. Uprooted and prevented from returning to their ancestral lands by the new geopolitical reality of Israel, they struggle to forge a new life in daunting conditions. At the same time, she is confronted with the sometimes uncomfortable realities of growing up female in a restrictive culture. Driven towards journalism by a desire to challenge wrongdoing, Nahlah found herself, unexpectedly, covering both the Afghanistan and then Iraq wars. She continues to cover the recent upheavals in Egypt and Libya. However, it is not war that she is following, but the plight of the region’s people who struggle to rebuild lives amid danger, uncertainty, and perpetual displacement.
Bahrain from the twentieth century to the Arab Spring by Joyce, Miriam
Call Number: DS247.B28 J69 2012
ISBN: 9781137031785
Publication Date: 2012
Based on a variety of international sources, this book explores the modern history of Bahrain and its international relations. While focusing particularly on British and American relations with Bahrain, Joyce's history investigates also Bahrain's relations with Saudi Arabia, Iran, and the USSR. Finally, the book covers the history of tension between Sunni and Shia Bahrainis and concludes by placing the still-unfolding events of the 2011 Arab spring in context.
Beyond the Arab spring : authoritarianism & democratization in the Arab world by Brynen, Rex
Call Number: JQ1850.A58 B49 2012
ISBN: 9781588268532
Publication Date: 2012
Brynen (political science, McGill U., Canada), Moore (political science, Case Western Reserve U., US), Salloukh (political science, Lebanese American U., Lebanon), and Zahar (political science, U. of Montreal, Canada) take stock of longstanding political issues of the Arab world in light of the Arab uprisings of 2011 and subsequent events. After providing a country-by-country review of the political context of the uprisings, they present eight chapters examining the subjects of political culture, Islamist movements and democratic politics, electoral politics, the politics of monarchical liberalization, rentierism and resource politics, economic liberalization, the Arab media, and the impact of the regional and international environment. Annotation ©2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
The Arab Spring : change and resistance in the Middle East by Haas, Mark L. | Lesch, David W.
Call Number: JQ1850.A91 A77 2013
ISBN: 9780813348193
Publication Date: 2013
The Arab Spring unexpectedly developed in late 2010 with peaceful protests in a number of Arab countries against long-standing, entrenched regimes, and rapid political change across the region ensued.The Arab Spring: Change and Resistance in the Middle Eastexamines these revolutions and their aftermath. Noted authorities writing specifically for this volume contribute chapters focusing on countries directly or indirectly involved, illuminating the immediate and long-term impacts of the revolutions in the region and throughout the world. A thoughtful concluding chapter ties together key themes, while also delineating persistent myths and misinterpretations. This is an essential volume for students and scholars of the Middle East, as well as anyone seeking a fuller understanding of region and what may lie ahead.
The battle for the Arab Spring : revolution, counter-revolution and the making of a new era by Lin Noueihed and Alex Warren
Call Number: 320.9174927 N85b
ISBN: 9780300180862
Publication Date: 2012
Sparked by the protest of a single vegetable seller in Tunisia, the flame of revolutionary passion swept across the Arab world in what has come to be called the Arab Spring of 2011. Millions took to the streets in revolt: the governments of Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya fell, other regimes remain embattled, and no corner of the region has escaped unchanged. In this informed and accessible book, Lin Noueihed and Alex Warren explain the economic and political roots of the Arab Spring, assess what has been accomplished so far, and consider the many stumbling blocks that confront the Arab nations as they try to shape their futures.

Through research, interviews, and a wealth of firsthand experience, the authors explain the unique set of obstacles that endanger stability in each country. They analyze the challenges many Arab nations face in building democratic institutions, finding consensus on political Islam, overcoming tribal divides, and satisfying an insatiable demand for jobs. In an era of change and uncertainty, this insightful guide provides the first clear glimpse of the post-revolutionary future the Arab Spring set in motion.
The European Union and the Arab Spring: promoting democracy and human rights in the Middle East by Peters, Joel
Call Number: 327.40560905 Eu749
ISBN: 9780739174432
Publication Date: 2012
The European Union and the Arab Spring: Promoting Democracy and Human Rights in the Middle East, edited by Joel Peters, analyzes the response of the European Union to recent uprisings in the Middle East. The past year has witnessed a wave of popular uprisings across North Africa and the Middle East which the Western media dubbed the Arab Spring. Demanding greater freedoms, political reform, and human rights, the protesters swept away many of the region’s authoritarian autocratic regimes. The events of the Arab Spring have been truly historic. They led to profound changes in the domestic order of Middle Eastern states and societies and impacted the international politics of the region. Additionally, these events necessitate a comprehensive reappraisal by the United States and most notably by the EU in their relations with the states and peoples of the region. This timely collection brings together nine leading authorities on European foreign policy and the Middle East, and investigates three central questions: What role did the European Union play in promoting democracy and human rights in the countries of North Africa and the Middle East? How did the EU respond to the uprisings of the Arab street? What challenges is Europe now facing in its relations with the region? Peters’ The European Union and the Arab Spring is at the forefront of scholarship on this historic socio-political shift in the Middle East and its wider implications for the West.

Arab Spring Subject Headings and Search Terms

Source: http://www.lilithnews.com/2011/12/2011-year-of-protester.html.

Arab Spring
The Arab Spring is a term refers to the democratic uprisings in Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Yemen that began in December 2010 and continued through 2011.

Subject Heading Searches on the UIUC catalog

Locate audio-visual resources, books, databases, jouranls and more on the UIUC library catalog. Below are examples of effective Library of Congress subject headings and search terms used for locating resources on library catalogs about the Arab Spring movements.

Subject Headings:

Arab Spring

Arab countries - Democracy - 21st century

Democratization - Middle East - History - 21st century

Protest movements - Arab countries -21st century

Resistance - Arab countries - 21st century

Revolutions - Arab countries

Revolutions - Arab countries - 21st century

Search Terms:

Arab Spring

Arab Revolution

Middle East uprising