COMP 339
Language and Power: Political Discourse during and after the Arab Spring Uprisings Spring 2025
Division I Difference, Power, and Equity
Cross-listed ARAB 344

“Political language is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.” George Orwell, Politics and the English Language In this course, we will examine the interplay between language and politics during the Arab Spring Uprisings. We will explore the socio-political conditions that precipitated the movement, and analyze how language functioned both as a tool of oppression and a vehicle for dismantling power structures. Students will be introduced to key linguistic and sociopolitical frameworks, such as systemic functional linguistics, critical discourse analysis, and Bakhtinian dialogism. Through a combination of lectures, discussions, and case studies, we will analyze speeches, media coverage, protest slogans, and grassroots communications from different Arabic-speaking countries to uncover the linguistic and rhetorical strategies employed by both state and non-state actors. We will also reflect on how the convergence of the Arab Spring and digital technologies promoted diverse forms of political expressions and translations thus challenging the state’s authoritative discourse and ultimately ending its monopoly over political narrative. This course is taught entirely in English, and all Arabic texts are accompanied by English translations.