Sociologies in Dialogue by Sari Hanafi Chin-Chun Yi

Author:Sari Hanafi, Chin-Chun Yi [Sari Hanafi, Chin-Chun Yi]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781529711455
Barnesnoble:
Goodreads: 51472303
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Published: 2020-10-20T00:00:00+00:00

This is how sociology was marginalized and devalued as a science in Syria. ‘Sociological research’ was directed either at secondary issues,6 or at issues in which the authorities and security apparatus showed interest.7

However, some members of the faculty – and I was one of them – were able to undertake some serious research that focused on fundamental societal issues. We were able to prepare university textbooks that had a significant impact on students’ social awareness of democracy, social justice, the fight against poverty, gender discrimination, and other important and noteworthy topics.

To avoid questioning by the ruling authority, these professors relied on three ‘rules': a) do not criticize the ruling Ba'ath Party and its leaders directly; rather, discuss economic or social policies without mentioning that the regime is responsible for them; b) do not raise matters that may disturb security service agents who might send a ‘report’ alerting party officials and the state, keeping in mind that said officials never read what any of us had written unless they received a ‘report'; and c) do not ‘air dirty laundry'. It was possible to tolerate a text that contained an opinion that was not approved by the authorities at the university, but the text itself was a crime that would not be forgiven if it was published, or even verbally spoken about, abroad.8

With the above in mind, I was able to conduct field research on the rural migration to cities in Syria9 within the scope of so-called ‘productive camps', where students engaged in various activities during the summer vacation depending on their specialties, and were supervised by volunteer staff members. I was also able to write a book on contemporary sociological theories, including my own reading of these theories, with a focus on ‘Historical Materialism'.10 I also published other books outside of the university framework, such as Political Dialogues in Socialism and Democracy11 and On the Social Situation of Arab Women.12 Following my departure from Syria and the consequent release from security apparatus control, I published a number of books and research papers without needing to consider the ‘rules’ that I was obliged to keep in mind during my time at Damascus University.13

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