Recollecting history : songs, flags and a Syrian square

Abstract

Symbols have played a major role in the development of a Syrian national identity since the beginning of the 20th century. These representations are national, official, and/or public (flag, song, and square), that are repetitively performed by successive generations of Syrian citizens, thus forming the historic collective framework of Syrian memory. The symbols are remembered as past public sites of independence and freedom while they currently signify an imposed loyalty to the authoritarian Syrian regime. In the translation of nostalgic memory as active resistance, the double play of meaning (both official and personal) creates an opportunity to subvert domination. This subversion is inherent in every official performance, in every pledge to the flag, in every performance of the anthem, and in every mandatory demonstration across the public squares. This thesis weaves the visual and spatial representations of power and the subsequent subversions for empowerment to narrate an untold, recollected, Syrian history.