by Lucia Sorbera
University of California Press
5/13/2025, paperback
SKU: 9780520394759
It is not Egypt's 2011 revolution that opened a space for women's and feminist activism, but--as this book shows--the long history of women's activism that created the intellectual and political background for revolution. By centering the experiences and ideas of multiple generations of women activists and intellectuals, Lucia Sorbera traces the feminist genealogies of Egypt's nationalist, student, Marxist, labor, human rights, and democratic social movements. Biography of a Revolution gathers a series of interrelated intimate and relational stories, charting in vivid detail the entanglements between women's aspirations across a century of politics and friendships. This historical analysis innovatively deploys decolonial and indigenous feminist epistemologies, bringing women's, gender, and feminist history into the center of Egypt's political, social, and intellectual history. More than a decade after the 2013 military coup, women's intellectual and political activism remains crucial to keeping the embers of revolution aglow.
Reviews:
"One of the best books I have read in years, Biography of a Revolution is engagingly written, carefully documented, and well argued. It is rich with conversation and compelling stories that center feminist actors and reframe the history of the Egyptian Revolution of 2011."--Beth Baron, author of Egypt as a Woman: Nationalism, Gender, and Politics
"A compelling and nuanced book, especially in Lucia Sorbera's questioning--rather than assumption--of what constitutes the boundaries of the Arab Spring and in her discussion of how various military governments have tried to appropriate women's political agendas."--Sherine Hamdy, coauthor of Lissa: A Story about Medical Promise, Friendship, and Revolution
"Feminism and revolution are historically linked in Egypt. Against the background of existing scholarship, Biography of a Revolution examines the 2011 Revolution through moving, fine-grained personal accounts of feminist revolutionaries, thereby taking the story of feminism and revolution forward and sparking speculation on future trajectories."--Margot Badran, author of Feminists, Islam, and Nation: Gender and the Making of Modern Egypt
About the Author:
Lucia Sorbera is Associate Professor and Chair of Arabic Language and Cultures at the University of Sydney.