Transnational Dialogues and Community Making in the Syrian Digital Space

Abstract

This thesis examines the ways diasporic and transnational Arabs, and particularly Syrians, utilize and engage in the virtual space to voice their experiences and engage in transnational dialogues, while overall taking part in the (re)construction of their homelands. This brings forth the discussion of borders and how they are practiced in relation to identity, sociocultural performances, and kinship relations. Borders are not limited to their physical territories but are continually performed and embodied, one the one hand through the memories, kinships, and networks of diasporas and refugees, and on the other through their hardships of being limited to their nationalities. My data will show that diasporic Syrians and non-Syrian Arabs engage in dialogues pertaining to their racial, national, and historical identities, in addition to showing the creative expressions of Syrian artists in relation to their memories and displacement. Altogether, this thesis presents the ways diasporic Syrians and non-Syrian Arabs use the digital space to express their identities and experiences and in effect shape their homelands.