From shame to pride : the politics of Shawi identity in contemporary Syria
Abstract
This article is about the word Shawaya. Before the Syrian uprising, many Syrians used the term Shawaya in a derogatory manner when referring to a class of people perceived as backward, uneducated and vulgar. However, during the course of the Syrian uprising and subsequent civil war, self-identification as a Shawi (the singular of Shawaya) became more prevalent among people belonging to this group of Syrian society. The Syrian uprising created a space for Shawaya to express their identity openly. As the Syrian uprising turned into a protracted conflict, the Shawi identity transformed into a political one as it became associated with the rural-urban divide characterizing the conflict. This article aims to explore the social and political implications of the word Shawaya in contemporary Syrian political culture by exploring the term and attempting to show how members of this group today express their Shawi identity both politically and socially.
Citation
Dukhan , H 2022 , ' From shame to pride : the politics of Shawi identity in contemporary Syria ' , Middle East Journal of Culture and Communication , vol. 15 , no. 4 , pp. 377-384 . https://doi.org/10.1163/18739865-01504003
Publication
Middle East Journal of Culture and Communication
Status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
1873-9857Type
Journal article
Rights
Copyright © Haian Dukhan, 2022. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the cc by 4.0 license.
Collections
Items in the St Andrews Research Repository are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.