This image shows protestors in the Middle East standing with their fists in the air while binary code rains down upon them. †his image also shows the title of this webtext, Composing to Change Nations: Teaching New Media and the Arab Spring in First-Year Composition. By: Bryan Lutz
  Introduction      Arab Spring     Global Turns and Civic Engagement     Assignment     Notes      References      Acknowledgements   

Acknowledgements

    I would like to thank Dr. Sherrie Gradin for encouraging me to explore the complications of identity within an American politic; Dr. Albert Rouzie for encouraging me to explore technology in the classroom and reminding me not to argue ideals without considering validation and dissonance; Dr. Mara Holt for her careful guidance in organizing this essay and for encouraging me not to hide my voice as a writer; Dr. Jennie Nelson for challenging me to validate my blog assignment empirically; Dr. Cynthia Selfe for her scholarship and her feedback on an earlier draft of this essay; Dr. Kristine Blair and the reviewers at Computers and Composition Online for their thoughtful guidance in revising this webtext; Journalist Jordan Terrell for putting me in touch with people participating in the movements in Egypt; Lana Oweidat for helping me to translate the Arabic contained in much of the rhetoric shared with me through Facebook and Twitter; Ashley Evans for her encouragement and for valuable data on the use of social networking in the classroom; Claudia Auger for her feedback on several drafts of this article and for allowing me to utilize her extensive vocabulary; Amanda Hayes and Matthew Nunes for their contributions through peer-review; Mickey Heart for his feedback on the aesthetics of this webtex; The Peach District, who prove every day that a small group of people can make a difference; And finally my students, who pioneered the blog assignment spring and fall quarters, 2011 and winter quarter, 2012.