Cultural Heritage and Contemporary Conflict: Perspectives from the Cara Syria Programme

This seminar showcased the research of scholars participating in the Cara (Council for At-Risk Academics) Syria Programme (SP), which has been supporting academics affected by the Syrian crisis since 2016. The seminar referenced SP research papers exploring how Syria’s cultural heritage has been impacted by the Syrian conflict and the diverse effects of violence on both tangible and intangible heritage from archaeological sites to marriage customs and literature. This work highlighted the importance of participants’ local knowledge and collaboration across international academic communities, and of Cara’s work with displaced Syrian academics. The event also allowed presenters, including Prof. Jen Baird (Birkbeck) an SP mentor, to reflect on their experiences of the Cara SP.

 Programme:

• Welcome and Introduction, Dr. Annie Webster, School of Advanced Study, UoL.
• Introduction to the Cara Syria Programme, Angus Tait Programme Officer, Cara SP.
• ‘The impact of ISIS on Syrian intangible cultural heritage: Marriage customs and rituals in the region of Manbij’, Mr Adnan Almohamad, Birkbeck Fellow & SP Fellow.
• ‘The Destruction of Cultural Heritage in Syria: The Case of Shash Hamdan Tomb 1 in the Upper Euphrates, 1995–2020’, Mr Adnan Almohamad, Birkbeck Fellow & SP Fellow.
• ‘The impact of the Syrian war on archaeological sites in Al-Hasakah Governorate’ Dr. Adnan Rashid Mamo, University of Aleppo, SP Fellow & Dr. Ismail Ibraheem University of Cologne.
• ‘The image of the Syrian in post 2011 novels from neighbouring countries’ Dr. Hüseyin Esved, Bingol University, SP Fellow.
• Reflections on mentoring in the Cara Syria Programme, Prof. Jen Baird, Birkbeck, UoL.