Announcement Calenda 1253179
History and heritage have always been areas of ideological and political confrontation. In Syria, under the Assad dynasty, the Baathist regime used history and archaeology to establish its legitimacy, shaping a national identity in the service of political control. The recounting of the past, notably through school textbooks and heritage policies, helped to erase the diversity of belonging and identification.
Today, the fall of the regime raises a number of questions: how can we move away from these political uses of history? What role can historians play in this transitional phase? How can we rethink the relationship between the political framework and the writing of history? What kind of state model would enable an inclusive appropriation of the national narrative, open to all segments of society?
In this context of transition, this study day aims to explore how history and heritage can be mobilized to support the reconstruction of Syrian society. Adopting a multi-disciplinary approach, it will bring together historians, anthropologists, archaeologists, political scientists and field workers. It invites us to examine the question of memory both as an object of the social sciences and as a central issue in the rebuilding of social and political ties in Syria.
