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“Let Us Imagine a Parallel Universe” – 5in10 with Zoya Masoud

Zoya Masoud works at the intersection of postcolonial studies, post-foundational urban theory, and critical heritage studies. As of Autumn 2024, she has taken on the role of postdoctoral researcher within the framework of the ERC-funded project “BEYONDREST,” based at the Forum Transregionale Studien e.V. Her current research initiative is titled Irrestitutable: Inquiries into Hauntings of Absent Cultural Heritage. In October 2024, she successfully defended her Ph.D. dissertation entitled “Dislocated. Heritage Construction through Experience of Loss in Aleppo” at the Technical University of Berlin within the DFG Research Training Group “Identity and Heritage.” Between 2015 and 2019, she worked in projects within various institutions, including “3D Model of the Aleppo Bazaar” at the German Archaeological Institute (Architectural Department), “Aleppo Heritage Catalogue” at the Berlin Museum of Islamic Art, and “Aleppo Archive in Exile” at the BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg. Prior to the outbreak of the Syrian war, she was a site architect in a range of restoration projects in the old cities of Damascus and Aleppo. She studied architecture and urban planning in Damascus, Hamburg, and Dar es Salaam. Working with qualitative research methods, Zoya has published on the (re)formations of ‘collective’ identity and heritage constructions, discourses of cultural heritage preservation under the atrocities of war, and temporalities in dealing with experiences of loss.

© Zoya Masoud.

How would you explain your research to someone who is not an expert?

Let us imagine a parallel universe situation: You are German, owning a German passport, and Germany is experiencing upheavals and armed conflicts in which its monuments and urban centers are drastically damaged. You flee your country of birth to another country – let us say – Iraq. To understand your host country’s culture, you take some fellow refugees to an Iraqi museum. There, you discover that a considerable number of artifacts – gigantic and little ones – are excavated from what you consider in your understanding as German territories. How would you feel about identifying with German-speaking communities, your exile communities, and your identity? Does your experience of refuge influence your engagement with bringing back (or restitute) these artifacts to Germany?

If we go back to reality or the world we live in now and here while you are reading this article, my research would be very similar, only in reverse geographies: In my dissertation, I investigated how the experience of loss influences self-identification with destroyed urban heritage in Aleppo. In my postdoctoral project, entitled “Irrestitutable,” I examine how the upheaval and armed conflicts in the global south affect the restitution debates within Europe and the Middle East.

What intrigued you when you started your academic journey?

As a member of a Syrian family born in the Palestinian refugee camp of al-Yarmuk in Damascus, I attended educational institutions allocated for internally displaced Syrians from the Golan Heights. My parents belonged to a politically marginalized group that faced repression under the regime of Hafiz al-Assad. These personal encounters with my country of birth and the experiences of leaving and losing my home and starting a new life in Germany shaped my interest in academia. I have observed that portrayals of Syria and the broader Middle East in German and European discourses are often reductive and characterized by generalizations. I contend that academic inquiry can impact social discourses, and thus I am dedicated to investigating the complexities inherent in these oversimplified representations of the Middle East and its ongoing conflicts. Through my research, I aspire to employ a nuanced analytical framework that appreciates cultural and political subtleties and actively challenges prevailing stereotypes about the region.

What were formative encounters or challenges?

My field research across diverse contexts in Tanzania, Syria, Greece, Sweden, and Germany has profoundly guided my analytical framework. I undertook three visits to Aleppo, where I conducted interviews with residents. Despite the severe hardships imposed by the Assad regime and the devastation wrought by conflict, the inhabitants of Aleppo provided invaluable assistance during my research and significantly contributed to my thesis. Engaging with their narratives, both in the diaspora and within Aleppo, has been a deeply enriching experience. The accounts shared by my interviewees were deeply infused with a sense of loss—pertaining to a lack of feeling safe under conditions of poverty and repression, experiences of disability, and the feeling of being unheard—yet they remained imbued with a persistent hope for a better future. Furthermore, exiled individuals narrated about their longing for their homes while maintaining an unwavering hope for return, despite the grim realities reported in the news. These stories were for me as beautiful and hard to understand as possible.

Nevertheless, this dynamic reached a pivotal moment on December 8, 2024, when the Assad regime collapsed. In the aftermath, many of my exiled participants reached out to share their photos and videos from their neighborhoods in Aleppo. Engaging with the biographies of these individuals and writing with them, for them and documenting their experiences has instilled in me a profound believe in a radical hope. In the context of Syria, this hope remained deferred for 14 years  but in crucial for envision a more equitable future—not only for Syria, but also for the broader Global South, which is still yet to come.

The historic Suqs of the old city of Aleppo after the destruction in year 2018. © Zoya Masoud

What do you consider to be the role of the humanities and social sciences in times of upheaval, fragmented publics, and authoritarian transgressions?

In my view, the paramount role of the humanities and social sciences lies in fostering critical thinking and encouraging scrutiny of assumptions that are often accepted as given. The societal upheavals, fragmented public spheres, and the authoritarian transgressions echo each other. Their interconnectedness becomes evident when marginalized individuals or groups challenge and seek to disrupt the very structures that have historically excluded them. This dynamic underscores the necessity of critical engagement with dominant power structures not only to deconstruct production of knowledge, but also to facilitate meaningful social change.

For example, my research concerns marginalized individuals within the dominant discourses around heritage and identity. These discourses are frequently taken for granted and unquestionable. By examining the conflictual nature of such systems of meanings, my investigations focus on their inconsistencies and unstable constructions, and subjects, who are exposed to injury within these spaces.

What book, article, film, exhibition or song would you recommend, and why?

In this particular moment of history, characterized by complex global (dis-)connections alongside social disparities, upheaval, and rapid advancements in technology, I would like to recommend Achille Mbembe’s invaluable work, “Necropolitics”. During my doctoral research, this text served as an irreplaceable guide amidst the instability I often encountered. It assisted me in finding my own voice and provided me with clarity and direction while grappling with various aspects of intersectionality, enabling me to articulate my own experiences and perspectives. Furthermore, Mbembe’s work offered a critical framework for engaging with the pressing issues of discrimination and racism that I confronted regularly. I trust that this recommendation proves beneficial to emerging scholars, as it did for me.


Citation: Let us imagine a parallel universe – 5in10 with Zoya Masoud, in: TRAFO – Blog for Transregional Research, 30.01.2025, https://trafo.hypotheses.org/54586


OpenEdition suggests that you cite this post as follows:
Forum Transregionale Studien (January 30, 2025). “Let Us Imagine a Parallel Universe” – 5in10 with Zoya Masoud. TRAFO – Blog for Transregional Research. Retrieved March 25, 2025 from https://doi.org/10.58079/137gg


Forum Transregionale Studien

The Berlin-based Forum Transregionale Studien promotes the internationalization of research in the humanities and social sciences. It provides scope for collaboration among researchers with different regional and disciplinary perspectives and appoints researchers from all over the world as Fellows. More...

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