This thesis is an investigation into the aesthetic and political functions of “rumor” in modern Egypt. While previous studies have emphasized the formal or structural features of the genre, I seek to analyze the discursive, political and technological contexts that contribute to its persistence as such a powerful and ambivalent way of imagining speech. The scope of my analysis is a collection of texts culled from the tradition of Arabic letters in Egypt, beginning with early works of historiography (16th century), and into the political journals, newspapers, and novels of the 20th century, as well as the blogs, search engines and internet forums of the 21st century. I argue that specific discourses and imaginings of the rumor – contingent and mutable – emerged as an inseparable feature of the elite author’s textual encounter with the masses. Anxieties over the agency of various mass subjects – the urban crowd, the citizenry, and others – have contributed to the ways in which different writers reify speech. The final chapters of my thesis turn to focus on rumors about the death of President Husni Mubarak, in order to analyze the role the genre plays in contests over national political authority. Here, the rumor is an index of fears, passions, fantasies and other narratives that the writers both draw on and contribute to. Foregrounding these associations becomes a powerful aesthetic and affective process that allows actors to "fix" - solidify and treat - the agency and subjectivity of others. / text

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Acinetobacter baumannii is an important nosocomial pathogen, frequently associated with morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised patients due to the immuno-ablative treatments, neutropenia and prolonged hospitalization. The ability of A. baumannii to survive in the healthcare setting makes it a frequent problematic pathogen in cancer centres. Much of the interest in A. baumannii has been attributed to its remarkable rapid acquisition of resistance mechanisms A. baumannii is an excellent example of genetic plasticity, with its ability to acquire and express resistance in plasmids and chromosome particularly to carbapenems The aim of this thesis is to look at the molecular epidemiology and resistance mechanisms of 34 non-duplicate A. baumannii in two cancer centres in Cairo, Egypt. Initial sequencing of the ubiquitous blaOXA-51-like gene revealed a large diversity within the strains, with eight different genes identified: blaOXA-64, blaOXA-65, blaOXA-66, blaOXA-69, blaOXA-71, blaOXA-78, blaOXA-94, blaOXA-89/100. Typing with Pulsed-field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE) showed an overall similarity at only 28.69% between the isolates, with variation in pattern for isolates with similar blaOXA-51-like genes. Typing with Multilocus Sequence Typing (MLST) identified 6 new Sequence Types: ST408 - ST414, in addition to ST331 and ST108 which have been previously found in other regions of the world. All three OXA-type carbapenemases: blaOXA23, blaOXA40 and blaOXA58, responsible for conferring carbapenem resistance were found in the collection studied. Insertion sequences ISAba1, ISAba2 and ISAba3 have been found to upregulate the expression of blaOXA genes. ISAba1 was found upstream of blaOXA23 in 18 strains in this collection The first report of ISAba2 was identified upstream of a blaOXA-51-like gene in this collection. Additionally, ISAba3 was bracketing the blaOXA58 genes, and two isolates harboured hybrid promoters with IS1006 and IS1008 interrupting the upstream ISAba3 sequence. Resistance to Ceftazidime was mediated by Extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) genes belonging to PER-like group: blaPER-1, blaPER-7 and the first report of blaPER-3 gene and its genetic environment in A. baumannii. In conclusion, this study shows the diversity exhibited by A. baumannii in Egypt. The various resistance mechanisms illustrate the ability of A. baumannii in acquiring and expressing resistance genes, either on plasmids or in the chromosome. Furthermore, the results indicate an urgent need to strict infection control policies and surveillance of antimicrobial use in Egyptian hospitals.

During the 4th century BCE and the Hellenistic period (323 – 31 BCE), the cult of Isis increasingly appeared outside of Egypt throughout the Greek world. The widespread diffusion of her cult at this time occurred due to Alexander III of Macedon’s conquest of the Achaemenid Empire. His conquest of the eastern Mediterranean and Egypt led to the reorganization of the Greek world politically and economically. This reorganization influenced the religious atmosphere of the 4th century BCE and subsequent centuries for Greeks. Popular cults, like the mysteries of Demeter and Dionysus, often focused on the afterlife and individuals more than poleis. Isis fit the new religious atmosphere since she was a universal goddess with ties to the afterlife and daily life. Under the Ptolemies, Isis became syncretized with Greek deities, such as Aphrodite and Demeter, which resulted in the increased likelihood of the reception of Isis's cult in Greek cities. Her Alexandrian cult emphasized sailing and healing through her connections with the Pharos and the healing cult of Serapis, her consort in the Ptolemaic Egyptian pantheon. Through a case study of sites with shrines dedicated to Isis in the Greek world, including Athens, Corinth, and Delos, it is evident that these sites had political and economic ties to Egypt and that her cult was often adapted at these sites based on the needs of the people at that location. Previous scholarship regarding the cult of Isis has emphasized her role in Egypt during the Pharaonic period or her reception among the Greeks and Romans from the 3rd century BCE to the 4th century CE. There is little literature that emphasizes Isis's reception during the 4th century BCE and early Ptolemaic period when her cult was first appearing at Greek sites or that discusses the relationship between Isis’s cult and the political and economic factors of the Hellenistic period. This thesis attempts to examine the development of the cult of Isis in Egypt in order to trace the Hellenistic religious domain of Isis back to the potential origins during the Pharaonic and Macedonian periods in Egypt. I argue that Isis's role as a protectress and establishment in Alexandria as a deity associated with sailors and navigation led to Isis’s reception in Greece first in ports, such as Piraeus, Corinth, and Delos. Furthermore, while sailing was important to the spread and reception of her cult during a period with increased economic activity, Isis gained popularity at these sites due to her vast patronages that increased the likelihood of her appeal to a variety of people and sites. The adaptability of her cult led to the widespread diffusion during the Hellenistic age, and the endurance of her cult into the Roman period. Her role as a seafaring protectress starting from the 4th century BCE indicates that there was a focus on economics and travel that resulted in a preoccupation with fortune and safety. Isis was a natural fit, as a protectress deity, for the religious landscape of the Hellenistic zeitgeist.

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Islam has, throughout its history, played a pivotal role in the lives of its adherents. Islam’s significance for its adherents stems from and is informed by it as a doctrine, a system of discipline and ritual, and a system of social ethics and practices. Throughout Islamic history, Islam has undergone significant reformation efforts as was socially and culturally perceived to be necessary from within its community. However, with the advent of colonialism, the introduction of the concept of the nation-state, and the ushering of the age of modernity, the form and structure of such reformation was much informed by the relationship of Islam and its adherents to the ‘other’ (the West) and its knowledge systems. Islam has since been confronted with the question of its own validity, from inside and outside the community of adherents. The struggle with the place of religion, the place of the sacred, has played out throughout the history of Islam within Egypt, at times expanding, at others withdrawing, as it dealt with political, social and cultural forces. This presented and presents its adherents with a dilemma of identity: a constant shifting, manipulating, rejecting, and reforming of religious symbols and meaning and further knowledge systems within Islam – an attempt to deal with the state of (post)coloniality, and the project of modernity. It is my contention that one can map the sacred within Egyptian writing: one that is associated with locations, with time, with human interactions, with social, cultural, historical and religious significance. Mapping such sacred spaces within (post)modern Egyptian writing presents deep insights into the struggle for individualism and representation. Egyptian writing is an expression of cultural contestation, and the struggle for self-definition, mirroring one that is pre-existing in Egyptian society. This is evidence of: a) social and cultural self-awareness; b) an engagement with and a response to ‘other’ narratives; c) an attempt to search for an ‘authentic’ self-sufficient discourse; and, d) an attempt to conjure up viable options for sustainability. This has not always led to self-certainty. In fact, it has led to epistemological uncertainty, ontological anxiety, and a threatened self-identity, to which Egyptian Muslims respond in a myriad of voices through these texts/narratives – tackling existential issues.

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The thesis discusses the progress or lack thereof of in the Middle East, specifically Egypt to achieve "democracy". It will critically explore the reasons why the Arab Spring happened, what were the factors and what changed in Egypt during those times until the present. I will show how it was before the revolution in Egypt which toppled ex-president Mubarak, examine the transition phase when ex-president Morsi was in power, and at the end the second revolution or coup d'état by current president El-Sisi. With that said Egypt will be compared with the other countries in the region; Tunisia, Libya and Syria, and we will see what are some of the similarities in the revolutions as well as some of the differences.

Thesis (M.S.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / 2031-01-01