1 Pedagogy of Transition: Characteristics of university student activism in contemporary Egypt Jason Dorio 1 July 2013 The system believes that it obtains from education one of the fundamental instruments for the reproduction of its power, and so dialectically, necessarily, must create its antagonist; its antagonistic opposite, as a revolutionary task, belongs to us. (Paulo Freire in an interview with Escobar et al. 1994, p. 31) Since December 2010, twenty out of the twenty-two member states of the Arab League 2 have experienced various forms of uprisings, civil wars, and revolutions. Commonly referred to as the “Arab Spring,” significant social, political, and economic developments have accompanied this wave of mass protests. Juxtaposed with a considerable youth bulge throughout the region, the Arab uprisings call to attention the significant role of youth participation and activism in bringing about social and political change in Arab states. One important example is the vital role that youth movements played in the January 25, 2011 Egyptian Revolution. 3 From the April 6 Movement and the followers of the We are all Khaled Said Facebook page to the youth wing of the Muslim Brotherhood, the youth in Egypt quickly mobilized a critical mass necessary to gain the crucial support from labor movements and the Egyptian military. Within eighteen days, the youth-led mobilization of broad-based pro-democracy demonstrations and strikes significantly challenged the long-standing authoritarian regime; forcing the ousting of the former President Hosni Mubark on February 11, 2011. However, as the complex nature of post-revolution political transition materializes, and debates over the formation of a new Egyptian state and new 1 PhD student, Social Science and Comparative Education Division, UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies. Program Officer, Paulo Freire Institute, UCLA. Contact: jdorio65@hotmail.com 2 The Arab League is an assembly of states generally unified by the predominant language of Arabic. These states include: Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates, Yemen, as well as the Palestinian territories. Thus far, only Comoros and UAE have not experienced popular anti-government protests and demonstrations. 3 Gelvin (2012) outlines the historical conditions leading up the uprisings, not only in Egypt but also throughout the Arab World.