Final Reflection

When I look at the first reflection I wrote for this course I am amazed at how much my view of the region has evolved as we have progressed throughout the course. From a very orientalist perspective I moved more and more to a more neutral and "unbiased" view of the region and started seeing it through the eyes of its inhabitants. In that way, I was finally able to come to an understanding as to how civil society, networks and grassroots organizations operate in the MENA region which is a bit different than from other parts in the world due, in part, to culture, history and mindset. That, in fact, is probably true of all regions and that might be a remnant of the orientalist mindset appearing in my discourse.

However, as to the course itself, I was a bit disappointed that we were only able to link up with the activists in the region once as opposed to the 3-4 times we were supposed to have done so. Unfortunately technological difficulties and scheduling conflicts rendered this pretty much impossible. One thing I thoroughly enjoyed in the course was the breaking up of the class into several different country groups to be used as case studies. I found that that helped understand the problems in the MENA region as well as the people and civil society in the region on a more intimate level which helped achieve a greater understanding of the topic. I would have liked, however, a bit more interaction between the different country groups because at times it seemed that the country groups were exclusive and, apart from the class discussions, there was not much interaction between the groups. Another thing that I enjoyed a lot in this class were the very pertinent documentaries, especially the one on Otpor! which helped show that the rise of civil society in the MENA region is not exclusive to the said region and that the way it rises and operates in other countries (Otpor! rose up in Serbia) is not dissimilar. The class discussions were also very enjoyable as they were very interactive and really helped connect with the class material.

All in all, this was one my favorite classes of the semester and although it was at times a bit bumpy due to it being a brand new course it was still a great experience and something that I would do again if I was offered the chance.