by Zeina Bazarbachi | contributing writer
Giving a public talk is no easy task. One must balance multiple elements, whether it comes to form or content. On October 17, 2022, I attended Princeton University’s Associate Professor Max Weiss’ public talk, which was organized by CAMES and the Department of English at AUB. It was titled Revolutions Aesthetic: A Cultural History of Ba`thist Syria and was meant to walk us through Weiss’ latest book with the same title.
While listening, I noted an intriguing characteristic of Weiss’ talk. He stated that his work was not an advocacy for or against the regime. As opposed to being a call for action, he merely wanted his book to document and analyze the Ba’thist aspect of Syria. This, in my opinion, was crucial because it showed once again that Weiss knew the limitations of his position as a scholar and avoided a prescriptive stance. Moreover, he avoided using too much jargon that would be unfamiliar to the general audience, rendering the talk approachable for the average listener.
Weiss’ approach to the theme of Ba`thist Syria was also notable. He tackles literature from a historical context by doing readings and viewings of novels and documentaries. He even translates them for the accessibility of the anglophone audience. For instance, some of the materials he chooses to bolster his credibility are Nabil Maleh’s movie Al-Kompras and Nihad Sirees’ novel The Silence and the Roar.
In The Silence and the Roar, the main character Fathi’s sensitivity to sound, especially laughter, is an important element. He expresses his thoughts about how the sounds made by the politicians and their vehicles overshadow other softer sounds, like those of nature. Fathi also contrasts the silence of prison and the roar of the regime. When Lama—his love interest—laughs in a moment of silence, her laughter becomes a powerful tool. When her laughter dares to make a sound; it dares opposition with no words at all. The question of whether laughter can be a response to oppression is a curious one and I found this argument interesting. Having used and viewed laughter as a coping mechanism against the atrocities of the world, I’ve never thought of it as rebellion.
Finally, Weiss presented us with a cartoon from 1994 by the Syrian political artist Ali Ferzat (Stelfox). It showed a passenger and a security guard at the baggage inspection section of an airport. The passenger not only had his suitcase checked but also his head, which was shown open like a box. The angry-looking guard holds the skull of the passenger open with his index finger, while the traveler sweats in anxiety. While this image was not thoroughly discussed by Weiss, I think it perfectly captures the point he was making about state control silencing freedom of speech and thought. They were more worried about the new thoughts than any of the new material stuff brought into the country, as they considered ideas to be far more dangerous (Stelfox).
All in all, Weiss’ lecture was expertly given in terms of both form and content. Through his intriguing perspective of the novel as a first draft of history, he captured my attention and introduced me to concepts that I had not given much thought to until then.
Works Cited:
Ferzat, Ali. Cartoon. 1994.
Flock, Elizabeth. “Syrian Security Forces Break Hands of Political Cartoonist Ali Ferzat.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 25 Aug. 2011, https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/blogpost/post/syrian-security-forces-break-hands-of-political-cartoonist-ali-ferzat/2011/08/25/gIQAmF9idJ_blog.html.
Stelfox, Dave. “Ali Ferzat’s Cartoons – in Pictures.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 19 Aug. 2013, https://www.theguardian.com/world/gallery/2013/aug/19/ali-ferzat-cartoons-in-pictures.
Weiss, Max. “Revolutions Aesthetic: A Cultural History of Ba`thist Syria.” October 17, 2022, American University of Beirut, Beirut. Lecture.