Dignity, the essence of humanity, is a complicated notion, a metaconcept. As Zaynab El Bernoussi states, just defining the term is a “struggle” (1). Despite its prevalence across the medical, legal, religious, and humanitarian discourses in sociology, anthropology, and political studies, we still lack a comprehensive understanding of dignity as it is understood and experienced by individuals. El Bernoussi’s work unpacks the significance and meanings of dignity, or karama, in the context of the 2011 uprising in Egypt. Her research addresses the subjective nature of karama and explores the diverse ways that it was instrumentalized by protestors to oust thirty-year-reigning President Mubarak. For El Bernoussi, the lens of karama attributes meaning to the Egyptian experience, struggle, and pursuit of justice.

Through interviews with Egyptian participants of the 2011 protests and descriptions of protest slogans, street art, and music, the book explores various manifestations of the concept of karama during...

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