This dossier is part of a selection of ten research papers produced within the ninth edition of Research to Strengthen the Culture of Knowledge (2023–2025), Ettijahat – Independent Culture’s research programme.
The research papers examine how artistic and cultural practices can preserve memory, respond to crises, and strengthen the social, economic, and creative roles of culture. They also explore cultural organisation and collaboration, the relationship between art, archiving and documentation, and comparative experiences of artistic production in Syria and Lebanon.
The papers explore transformations in artistic and cultural production, the conditions under which it unfolds, its evolving social and political roles, and its relationship to public space, shifting identities, and collective memory.
The research papers presented here emerged through a process of research, training, and critical mentorship, reflecting the programme’s commitment to strengthening the capacities of researchers and cultural practitioners while fostering the production of critical knowledge that can serve as a lasting resource for cultural work in times of prolonged crisis.
As Hanan Kassab Hassan writes in the foreword to the Arabic edition, published by Ettijahat – Independent Culture in partnership with Mamdouh Adwan Publishing House, one of the most remarkable aspects of this collection is “the diversity of the subjects explored and the innovative choices made by the researchers”. She further observes that these papers reflect “the ability of young eyes to perceive dimensions of everyday life that often escape our attention”.
The papers echo this observation, combining interdisciplinary methodologies with original research questions rooted in the lived realities of Lebanon and Syria. Together, they examine memory, identity, artistic practice, urban transformation, cultural institutions, and political expression, demonstrating how independent research contributes to a deeper understanding of societies shaped by conflict, displacement, and ongoing social and political change.
The collection spans a wide range of cultural fields, moving from theatre, cinema, and music to archives, cultural geography, anthropology, and political thought. Throughout the publication, questions of war, displacement, public space, collective memory, gender, identity, and cultural heritage emerge as interconnected themes, reflecting both the diversity of the research and its close engagement with the realities of the region.
Several papers examine the relationship between memory, archives, and cultural preservation. Joelle Deeb explores the Orontes River as a living cultural landscape, documenting local knowledge, everyday practices, and historical forms of crossing that reveal the evolving relationship between communities and their environment. Omar Houssni critically revisits the Syrian Cassette Archive, questioning the politics of musical preservation, representation, and intellectual ownership, while Hani Altelfah investigates the transformations of libraries during wartime, revealing them simultaneously as targets of destruction and as spaces of cultural resilience, memory, and resistance.
Archival practices and cinema also emerge as significant areas of inquiry across the collection. As Ghada Sayegh observes in her introductory reflection, archival and documentary practices in Lebanon unfold within “a complex reality that requires endless negotiation”, where catastrophe is experienced not only as memory but as an ongoing present. Building on this reflection, Nathalie Rosa Bucher’s research examines , Nathalie Rosa Bucher examines the institutional archives of the Metropolis Cinema Association and the emergence of Cinematheque Beirut, considering how independent archival initiatives contribute to preserving cinematic heritage and documenting Lebanon’s film history. Nour Ouayda, meanwhile, introduces the concept of “weirding reality” to explore how speculative and dystopian cinematic languages emerge from societies marked by disruption and catastrophe, opening new ways of imagining and interpreting lived experience.
Together, these papers demonstrate how archives and cinema function not only as records of the past but also as spaces through which new cultural imaginaries become possible.
Questions of artistic practice, public space, and cultural institutions are equally central to the collection. May Touma investigates the relationship between performing arts collectives, the city, and their audiences, revealing how artists negotiate economic constraints, political realities, and urban transformations while sustaining cultural practice. Ziad Adwan offers a historical and critical reading of the Damascus Theatre Festival, analysing its contribution to theatrical discourse, institutional development, and cultural exchange across the Arab region.
The relationship between culture, identity, and political expression is explored through Bassel Saleh’s analysis of the slogans of Lebanon’s October 17 uprising, treating them as forms of political, ideological, and cultural discourse that reveal competing visions of social change. Mayar Mohanna analyses Syrian women’s cinema after the uprising, exploring the intersections of feminist perspectives, political expression, and cinematic language in representing conflict, displacement, and social transformation. Nagham Khalil, through a participatory Photovoice methodology, foregrounds the experiences of young Bedouin women in Lebanon, offering a nuanced exploration of cultural identity, belonging, gender, and representation from the perspective of a community that has long remained underrepresented in academic research.
Although these research papers differ in subject matter, methodology, and disciplinary orientation, they are united by a shared commitment to examining culture as a dynamic field through which societies understand themselves, negotiate change, and imagine new possibilities. Whether documenting threatened archives, analysing artistic practices, tracing transformations in urban and cultural landscapes, or amplifying voices that have historically remained marginalised, they demonstrate the capacity of cultural research to preserve memory while opening new avenues for critical reflection.
Publishing these research papers in English extends their reach to a wider readership and contributes to ongoing international conversations on culture, knowledge production, and social transformation. More importantly, it reflects the conviction that research is not merely a means of documenting reality, but an essential cultural practice that preserves memory, challenges inherited assumptions, and helps imagine more just, inclusive, and creative futures.
Echoing Hanan Kassab Hassan’s concluding reflection in the Arabic edition, these research papers stand as a testament to a generation of researchers who have lived through conflict, uncertainty, and profound social transformation, yet continue to approach these realities with intellectual curiosity, methodological depth, and critical imagination. Their work demonstrates that knowledge remains one of the most powerful means of understanding the present and imagining the future.
Translation note: The ten research papers included in this publication were originally written in Arabic and translated into English by DOCstream, with the exception of the papers by Nour Ouayda and Nathalie Rosa Bucher, which were originally written in English.
