Writing from Aleppo to exile and back again
It is with deep gratitude that I stand before you today to receive this honorary doctorate. And so, before anything else, I want to begin by dedicating this honor.I dedicate it to every Syrian student who was expelled for their political beliefs. To those who were denied their academic records by the Assad regime.To those... Continue Reading →
March 2024 marked the end of my tenth year of exile from Aleppo, my hometown. On March 17, 2013, I was detained for several hours, and by the morning of March 18, I had left Syria, aware that any attempt to return could lead to my assassination or prolonged imprisonment at the very least. I had... Continue Reading →
Radicalizing Her: Why Women Choose Violence—Nimmi Gowrinathan (Melville House, 2021) Syria: Den tapte revolusjonen– Bendik Sørvig (Melkeveien Forlag, 2019) We Crossed a Bridge and It Trembled: Voices from Syria– Wendy Pearlman (HarperCollins, 2017) Burning Country: Syrians in Revolution and War – Robin Yassin-Kassab & Leila Al-Shami (Pluto Press, 2016)
I led a five-week creative writing workshop designed specifically for first-time women writers inside Syria. This workshop focused on creating a safe, supportive entry point into writing for women who had not previously published or formally studied creative writing. The workshop emphasized writing as a tool for expression, reflection, and self-articulation rather than performance or... Continue Reading →
Sara Jaleela, Marcelle Shehwaro For days after the earthquake, Syrians searched for their loved ones under the rubble of destroyed buildings, or in hospital halls that had been bombed in Syria during the war. Some searched in Turkey, where they could not speak the language. They were left to fend for themselves while accusations and debates flew between the... Continue Reading →
February 10, 2023 “The Search for Survivors of Earthquakes”, a Facebook Group. A photo of a young, handsome man believed to be in his twenties and a post reading: "His name is Nael Masri. He has been trapped under rubble for four days. If you have any information about his whereabouts, please call this number:... Continue Reading →
I facilitated an eight-week Creative Nonfiction Writing Workshop for Arab women human rights defenders, in collaboration with the Gulf Centre for Human Rights. The workshop was conceived as a collective learning space where writing could function both as a creative practice and as a political tool rooted in lived experience. The workshop aimed to strengthen... Continue Reading →
I taught a Critical Reading and Writing course at Fountain House, a New York–based organization that supports people living with serious mental illness through a community-centered model focused on dignity, mutual support, and participation in public life. Fountain House is known for its clubhouse approach, which emphasizes recovery through shared work, learning, and community rather... Continue Reading →
I served as a Graduate Teaching Fellow for University Writing: Readings in Human Rights at Columbia University, a required undergraduate course within the Core Curriculum. In this role, I taught, assessed, and graded students’ academic writing while guiding them through a full semester of sustained critical reading and essay-based argumentation. The course introduced students to... Continue Reading →
A Syrian artist in the countryside of Idlib painted a mural of solidarity with the Ukrainian people on the remaining wall of a house destroyed by Russian warplanes [Ali Haj Suleiman/Al Jazeera] “Should we post on social media about the possibility of the use of chemical weapons in Ukraine?” A survivor and volunteer of “Do... Continue Reading →
Marcelle Shehwaro 