Observing Cairene Narratives and Subjectivities Towards Covid-19: Reflections on the First Year of the Pandemic

Authors

Sarra Moneir, Faculty of Economics and Political Science - Future University in EgyptFollow

Abstract

Theoretical and methodological toolkits already existing in the field of political science and social science in the grand sense have been challenged by the tremendous impacts of waves and movements of social change since 2010 in the Arab Region. While political and social scientists were, and still remain, engaged in unravelling questions of how to apprehend the forms of social movements (re-)born, not just in the Arab world but also through the Occupy movements in the US and Europe, they soon had to redirect their focus on issues of migration and refugees, only to find themselves once again confronted with questions of state dynamics, in addition to the soon hailing Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. In fact, while theories, methodological tools, and studies generally in political and social science have built up large schemes of interpretations and experimentations in explaining the various realities, gaps and oftentimes stagnation persist in grasping moments of change from angles already existing scholarship may have not yet shed light on, or rather angles in need of further revisiting. Considering this, this study focuses on Cairo, aiming to apprehend social change and transformation amidst the COVID-19 pandemic by setting the narratives of a sample of socially and politically engaged individuals at the center of analysis. The nexus of this research is, thus, to address how individual experiences depict the different realities produced through observing the impact of the pandemic on the lives of Egyptians (specifically Cairo-based) in their daily life practices. This unveils the prime question of the study, namely: how and in which modes does the pandemic affect the way socio-political changes in Egypt are viewed through individual narratives, and hence their understanding of the role of the state and its policies at the time of crisis? The methodological setting used to conduct this study is premised on grounded theory through the employment of biographical interviews. The individual participants are a sample of 20 The study included men and women based in Cairo between the ages of 25 and 50. On the theoretical front, it reflected on scholarship on affect (Sarah Ahmed 2000, 2004, 2005) and concepts of memory and experience, referencing the works of Bourdieu and Riceour.

Recommended Citation

Moneir, Sarra (2024) "Observing Cairene Narratives and Subjectivities Towards Covid-19: Reflections on the First Year of the Pandemic," Future Journal of Social Science: Vol. 3: Iss. 1, Article 4.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.aaru.edu.jo/fjss/vol3/iss1/4