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The Young and the Restless in the Virtual Sphere: Everyday Life in Contemporary Omani Society
Abstract by Corina Lozovan On Session VI-28  (Digital Spheres)

On Friday, November 3 at 4:00 pm

2023 Annual Meeting

Abstract
Last year, at Venice Biennale, in the Omani Pavillion, the artist Radhika Khimji had an installation called “Under, Inner, Under.” She focused on exploring agency by questioning to what extent people are a result of their environments or in which ways people shape their environment. The artist’s installation can represent the virtual sphere that has gradually emerged in Oman in the last few years, an underground space of the society where citizens have shared their inner thoughts, ideas, and beliefs. In this online Agora, they have found more freedom to express opinions and contest the narratives of the official authorities. The idea of the environment shaping people’s behavior is a starting point in this research to grasp how individuals’ everyday practices, in reality, are interwoven with digital, where they also shape and challenge the political status quo. This paper aims to concentrate on the vibrant young layer of the population to examine the role of the virtual sphere in their everyday life to understand the sociopolitical changes occurring in contemporary Oman. Supported by fieldwork methodology, I intend to understand how they demark themselves from the older generations as they navigate a landscape of challenges and leadership transition with Sultan Haitham. The first part of the paper analyzes how the virtual sphere exposes individuals to new circles of knowledge and authority, defying official political discourses and shaping new political subjectivities. In this process, the virtual produces a citizen that refracts from the neutrality that is displayed publicly, contributing to a more acute political awareness. The second part of the paper explores the virtual sphere as a digital souk of ideas where authorities compete for power. It looks at how the government, the religious elite, and other institutions behaviors in framing discourses to legitimize and maintain their control. The final part examines whether the virtual sphere is paving the way for an empowered young citizen community by reflecting on how young Omanis redefine the values that drive politics, becoming an engine for potential sociopolitical changes.
Discipline
Anthropology
Media Arts
Political Science
Geographic Area
Oman
Sub Area
None