MENACS blog

Call for Papers

The AHRC-Funded First International Conference of the Syrian Academics and Researchers’ Network in the UK (SARN UK) 

18-19 September 2025 at the University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom  

Rebuilding Syria: Reflections, Innovations and Collaborations

The Syrian Academics and Researchers’ Network in the UK (SARN-UK) and the Middle East and North Africa Centre at Sussex (MENACS), in association with SARN UK’s partner, the British Society for Middle Eastern Studies (BRISMES) will co-host SARN UK’s first international conference, which is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC). 

We are pleased to announce that our call for papers is now open. In addition to submissions aligned with the conference theme, ‘Rebuilding Syria: Reflections, Innovations and Collaborations’, we welcome papers on a range of topics related to Syrian culture, art, history and politics. 

We accept individual as well as co-authored paper proposals.

Please complete this form to submit your proposal by 23.59 (BST) on 20 June 2025.

If you have any queries, please write to Feras Alkabani at f.alkabani@sussex.ac.uk

Conference Themes

Rebuilding Syria: Reflections, Innovations and Collaborations 

The collapse of the 54-year Assad dictatorship on 8 December 2024 took the world by surprise. For many Syrians, this was a dream that eventually came true after 14 years of a bloody struggle that left much of the country in ruins.

Yet Syrians continued to work, resist and rebuild. Now more than ever, Syrians need to come together to share, discuss and envisage their future and that of their country. 

This interdisciplinary conference invites academics and researchers working on Syria from within the UK and around the world to share their latest research in their areas of expertise to reflect, innovate and collaborate on rebuilding the new Syria.

Themes may include (but are not limited to) the following topics: 

-              The role of education in the rebuilding process 

-              Historical approaches and imaginative futures 

-              The role of art and music in healing and building bridges  

-              Transitional justice 

-              Civil liberties, gender relations and sexuality in civic society 

-              Diasporic connections and intercultural innovations 

-              Reflective storytelling in literature, art, cinema and dance  

-              Political plurality and civil society 

-              Cross-sectarian dialogue 

-              Multiple identities and belonging 

-              Syrian culture and soft power

Hardship Fund

We are not charging a registration fee, thanks to our AHRC fund. 

We expect scholars with institutional affiliations to request funding to cover their travel and accommodation expenses from their institutions where possible. 

However, we may be able to help cover (some of) the travel and/or accommodation costs for a small number of successful UK-based speakers up to a limited maximum total of funds (to be determined later). 

But please note that this is the exception (not the norm). We, therefore, encourage you to seek external funding to pay for your travel and accommodation costs if you need to. 

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