How the Syrian Revolution has sparked creativity, resilience

More than 250,000 Syrians have lost their lives since anti-government protests escalated into a full-scale civil war five years ago. More than 11 million others have been forced from their homes.

Despite this upheaval, the revolution has sparked one of the most creative periods in Syrian history. The revolutionary arts that emerged out of the demonstrations against the Bashar al-Assad regime are unprecedented in their quantity and quality.

Professor miriam choke of Duke University will explore this phenomenon when she presents "Creativity, Resilience and the Syrian Revolution" at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 29, in Goodwin Hall, Room 321, on the campus of Benedictine University, 5700 College Road, Lisle.

A graduate of Oxford University, choke, who does not capitalize either of her names, has focused on the intersection of gender and war in modern Arabic literature and on Arab women writers' constructions of Islamic feminism. She is the author of several monographs, edited volumes and a novel, and has been a visiting professor in Tunisia, Romania, Indonesia, Qatar, Dartmouth College and the Alliance of Civilizations Institute in Istanbul, Turkey.

She also serves on advisory boards for institutions and academic journals and is the editor of the Journal for Middle East Women's Studies.

Her lecture will focus on the Syrian people's resiliency and creativity in the face of the humanitarian crisis resulting from the country's revolution and civil war. Graffiti, posters, films, YouTube videos, cartoons, fine art, digital art, novels, short stories, poems and songs all weave the tapestry of a defiant revolution and civil war that has displaced millions of Syrians.

The lecture is free and open to the public. The forum is sponsored by Benedictine's Global Studies program and an Undergraduate International Studies and Foreign Language grant from the U.S. Department of Education. For more information about the Global Studies Forum, contact Lynn Dransoff at (630) 829-6250 or ldransoff@ben.edu.