Category Archives: Features

Thomas Pierret: The Sunni Ulama: Syria’s Parliamentary Era as a Golden Age

One might intuitively assume that the Syrian Sunni ulama (religious scholars) would valorize periods emblematic of Islam’s bygone grandeur, such as the Umayyad or Ottoman empires. In practice, however, their historical narratives accord greater significance to the era of parliamentary rule spanning the late French Mandate through the early years of independence (1932–1963). This emphasis […]

Christine Crone: Constructing post-Ba’athist Syria through Cultural Heritage: the role of the Syrian Arab News Agency

In the years leading up to the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad and the downfall of the Syrian Ba’athist state, the Syrian state propagated what I referred to in previous publications, as a ‘post-war narrative’ (Crone 2023; 2025). This narrative became particularly evident after the last-remaining area of rebel-held Aleppo was recaptured by the state army […]

Kræn Kielsgaard: Rewriting Syria´s history – the case of Israel in Syrian schoolbooks after December 8, 2024

This post examines how the new Syrian state seeks to reconstruct public memory through revisions of public-school curricula in a period of profound political and social transformation after December 8, 2024. It unfolds how education, and more specifically official historiography, are employed by the new state as symbolic tools through which the former regime is […]

Birgitte S. Holst: Introduction: Uses of the past in the post-Assad political transition in Syria

Since Bashar Al-Assad was overthrown as President of Syria in early December 2024, the political situation in the country has been volatile. Although a new group of powerholders have taken over, their grip on power is far from complete just as some Syrians are unsure or worried about what such a complete grip on power […]

Ana Ivasiuc: ‘I can’t explain, you need to see for yourself’: Matters and senses of insecurity in the campi nomadi of Rome

‘What is it like to work with Roma?’ I asked the police officer. He gestured widely, shaking his head and raising his arms and shoulders, suggesting that words could not describe what he was trying to convey. ‘You would have to see for yourself. Once you see how they live, how they smell, what the […]

Erella Grassiani and Nir Gazit: The Smell of Fear, The Sound of Relief: Sensing War in Israel/Palestine

As we write this, in January 2026, there is, theoretically speaking, a ceasefire in place in Gaza. Unfortunately, this does not mean that the war, the genocide, the violence, and horrors have come to a stop as Israel is breaching the ceasefire on a daily basis. Violence and death are still omnipresent in Gaza and […]

Alice McAlpine-Riddell: Zap, Dazzle and Pink! The Aesthetic and Vibrant Enchantment of Tasers

It is the summer of 2022, and I am volunteering with Wes at a queer multi-purpose community space in Brooklyn, New York City. The space is bright pink, adorned with colourful rainbow motifs, hand-painted floating clouds, and neon signage. Today, our responsibilities are to keep the space open for community members to hang out and […]

Maja Sisnowski: Gut Feeling, Adrenaline and Fried Onions: Sensing Aggression in German Health and Welfare Services

“I don’t know how to explain it”, Caro told me in an interview, “but you develop a sense [Gespür] for when you can keep standing in front of the person, because you know: Okay, they are going to shout at you for ten minutes, and then they have used the valve that they needed. And […]

Laust Lund Elbek: Sniffing Out Trouble? What and how the ‘Police Nose’ Smells

Suspicion appears to sit largely in the nose: we might say that something ‘stinks,’ ‘smells off,’ that we ‘smell a rat,’ or perhaps ‘something fishy.’ Such suspicious smells may, in turn, compel us to ‘sniff out trouble’—at least until we ‘lose the scent.’ While these metaphors can seem curious or quirky at first sight, they […]

Susana Durão and Tilmann Heil: Care, Cordiality, and Control. Multisensorial Encounters with More-than-Security in Urban Brazil

In urban Brazil, portarias–entry halls and porters lodges–and their staff absorb the circulation of people and goods as they pass between the streets and domestic spaces. In Rio de Janeiro’s and São Paulo’s middle-class neighbourhoods, the relative calm at the portaria turns into a hustle and bustle at certain times of the day. In a […]