Professors and students at Willamette University have been keeping close tabs on the situation in Egypt and are incorporating the "living history" into current studies.
Part-time visiting professor of anthropology Bahram Tavakolian, who specializes in Middle East studies, said he views President Hosni Mubarak's resignation as a positive move for the country's people and its government.
"It is quite exciting," he said. "It's not clear exactly what will happen, the future is still clouded, but I think it is a positive sign that Mubarak will be out of the picture. I doubt that the vice president will be able to keep power ... and we don't know when the elections will be yet but the elections will probably be freer than at any time in Egyptian history."
However, Greg Felker, a professor of politics and chairman of the International Studies Department, said that despite the appearance of radical change, the future of the Egyptian political situation remains uncertain.
"There tends to be an assumption that the breakdown of an authoritarian regime results in a natural process toward democracy, but in fact there is a large gray zone between an authoritarian regime and a liberal democracy," Felker said. "Many countries that have these revolutions, in quotation marks, remain in the gray zone for a long time."
Tavakolian said the revolution has been mislabeled, citing it as different from the way it has been portrayed.
"It is not as radical as it is made out to be," he said. "It is a revolution that is primarily coming from the middle, rather westernized, liberal middle class. It is not a workers' revolution, although they are participating in it. (The revolution is) coming from the educated elite that have been shut out of economic opportunities in Egypt for the last 30 years."
Felker said he has mentioned the conflict in his classes. "I have addressed it comparatively as sort of a talking point," he said.
Professor Megan Ybarra, who teaches Politics in the Developing World, said she asked students to research background information that relates to current political change in Egypt through news articles. "Then we shared information through small-group discussions and in-class presentations."
The revolution also has been incorporated in on-campus events, such as the recent University Convocation. Tavakolian said the convocation focused mainly on the Sudan referendum, but incorporated the topic of Egypt.
The panel "spoke on the (referendum) in Sudan and how it might have a bearing on what is happening in Egypt. They brought up that the fact that there has been a successful referendum in Sudan would give people hope for a democratic future in Egypt," Tavakolian said.