UC San Diego

In my dissertation, I look at the gendered artistic, aesthetic, and cultural practices that formed a constellation of resistance known as the Syrian Revolution. I argue Syrian women’s gendered resistance express multiple, interwoven critiques against regime authoritarianism, colonial systems, extremism, and heteropatriarchy. I examine the dominant discourses that erase their labors and voices, and frame the misrecognition using the metaphor of siren songs. I look at the pedagogies and theatre performances that emerge from under siege, situate these spaces in the context of the Syrian Revolution, and argue that they express political messages that cannot be divorced from their revolutionary origins. I argue that through these protests, performances, and pedagogies, Syrian women and youth create new worlds, spaces where freedom lives.