Department of Sociology, Anthropology & Media Studies

American University of Beirut

Department of Sociology, Anthropology & Media Studies

Cordially invites you to a lecture entitled

"On the ‘Disconnected’ Syrian or the 'Muselmannisation' of the Syrian

Reflections on the Biopolitics of the Siege of Damascus.

By

AbdulhaySayed, Ph D

Syrian lawyer

December, 16. 12:00–1:30 pm

College hall, Aud. B1

Abstract: I will look at parallels in the besieging of various Ghouta towns, the siege of central Damascus, as well as in detention experiences in various crushing detention centers which are mainly located in Damascus. I am relying on graphic testimonies drawn from various local NGOs on space, and persons at the limit of life and death, like starving individuals in the besieged towns, and detainees who have “disconnected,” (فصلوا), in detention centers. My focus is not images of starvation or torture practices that one abundantly finds in various human rights reports, but more on the human experience of victims encountering the space where this all takes place. I am concentrating on Damascus, which I have lived in and continue to go to (when possible), and because it is in many respects representative, as the deployment of power is at its pinnacle. My purpose is to test whether and to what extent we can look at Damascus today as a biopolitical space of a camp; and whether and to what extent Foucault and Agamben can inform us about the political space that has been offered to us in the past fifty years and is promising either to continue even more boldly, or be reproduced by others.

AbdulhaySayed: a Syrian independent lawyer and has been a lecturer in law in the Damascus Faculty of Law from 2005 to 2011. He graduated in law from the University of Damascus and holds a Masters in law degree from Harvard Law School, as well as a Masters and a Ph.D in international law from the Graduate Institute of International Studies of the University of Geneva. He has a number of scholarly writings on corruption, good governance, human rights, constitutional law, public law, and the sociology of law.