The collective dream

: Egyptians longing for a better life

Abstract

This research conceptualizes the collective dream in light of two historical moments in Egypt's history. Firstly, the period of President Gamal Abdelnasser, or what is known as the Nasserite period (1956–1970) – in particular the building of the High Dam as a larger-than-life national project which acted as the materialization of anti-colonial, socialist, pan-Arab aspirations. Secondly, the Revolution of the 25th of January 2011, which succeeded in overthrowing President Hosni Mubarak after thirty years in power and raised the slogan: “Bread, Freedom, Social Justice.” Collective dreams, I argue, are born from transformative historical moments in which a heightened sense of hope allows a group of people to dream together of better lives. The collective dream interweaves the singular dreams of many individuals and connects personal welfare to the welfare of the collective. It sustains a sense of belonging to an overarching framework within and through which people look forward to something. It is the dream of a “better life”, as vague, simple, and unfathomable as this statement is. It is more complex and much bigger than specific demands or aims. Its hallmark is a general, powerful, oneiric tendency characterized by vagueness, generality, hopefulness, and fear. How does it feel for subjects to enter into this attachment? What is it like when the attachments cease to be promising? How does the collective dream exist in its afterlife? And how does this experience re-constitute its subjects? This research aims at advancing a study of collective consciousness of a society by shedding light on its ephemeral, often incoherent structure of feelings (Raymond Williams). Thus, my approach runs contrary to the prevailing trend of studying of a society in light of fully organized experiences, smoothing out their inconsistencies and contradictions. It shifts attention onto how the material reality of experience is “felt”, particularly during historical moments in which the promise of a better life seems near and real. I use various cultural representations which articulate the rise and the demise of the collective dream during both the period of the Nasserite project and Egyptian Spring of 2011. These representations include the poetry of Abdelrahman al-Abnudi, Salah Jahin, and Tamim al-Barghouthi, the reportage The Man of the High Dam (1967) by Sonallah Ibrahim, Kamal al-Qilish, and Raouf Mousad, revolutionary graffiti (2011–2013), and semi-structured personal interviews.

Date of Award	5 Apr 2023
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Peter Hanenberg (Supervisor) & Frederik Tygstrup (Supervisor)