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397919

Interrogating Encounters: Reconstructing Power in the Chaos of Cairo

Article

Last updated: 07 Jan 2025

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Abstract

On the occasion of Egypt and the US celebrating one hundred years of diplomatic relations (1922–2022) two very significant works of art by Egyptian American writers appeared: Noor Naga's novel  If an Egyptian Cannot Speak English (2022) and Yussef El Guindi's play “Hotter than Egypt" (2022). Both works show the experience of Americans in Egypt and the myriad of misunderstandings between the locals (Egyptians) and the foreigners (Americans). Both works are set in Cairo in the aftermath of the Egyptian revolution. Instead of the typical stereotypes of the wealthy American and the American Dream aspiring Egyptian, we see shifting power dynamics that go beyond attempting to come to terms with each other. Both texts illustrate the disparities in cross-cultural communication and deconstruct the colonial assumption of “universal values" and White Supremacy. Making use of Connected Sociology theory, this paper asserts that the two works advocate for a rethinking of concepts and a reevaluation of histories informed by this new understandings. Analyzing the power dynamics between US and Egypt as exemplified by the characters in the two texts and the shifting shapes of power to provide an understanding that emphasizes the fluid nature of power based on wider relationships of individuals and their life experiences in a global context.

DOI

10.21608/cse.2024.321161.1190

Keywords

Arab spring, Connected Sociology, Pluriversality, Cultural collision, decoloniality, White Supremacy

Authors

First Name

Editor

Last Name

Chief

MiddleName

-

Affiliation

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Email

cairo.studies@journals.cu.edu.eg

City

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Orcid

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First Name

Maha

Last Name

Elsaid

MiddleName

Fathy

Affiliation

Department of English, Faculty of Arts, Cairo University.

Email

elsaid.maha@gmail.com

City

Cairo

Orcid

-

Volume

2024

Article Issue

2

Related Issue

52233

Issue Date

2024-12-01

Receive Date

2024-09-15

Publish Date

2024-12-01

Page Start

61

Page End

78

Print ISSN

0575-1624

Online ISSN

2682-2504

Link

https://cse.journals.ekb.eg/article_397919.html

Detail API

http://journals.ekb.eg?_action=service&article_code=397919

Order

6

Type

Original Article

Type Code

738

Publication Type

Journal

Publication Title

Cairo Studies in English

Publication Link

https://cse.journals.ekb.eg/

MainTitle

Interrogating Encounters: Reconstructing Power in the Chaos of Cairo

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Type

Article

Created At

07 Jan 2025