Remembering Raqqa ꟷ Memories of a Violent Order

“Remembering Raqqa - Memories of a violent order” brings together personal memories of civilian life under so the so-called “Islamic State” (Daesh) in the Syrian city of Raqqa as one of the group’s major strongholds of political rule. Drawing from published memoires, interviews, and most importantly, field work in Jordan’s refugee camp Al-Azraq, the paper focuses on the confining effects of the urban during times of civil war. By giving voice to civilians as objects of (civil war), the paper draws attention to mid- and long-term effects of loss of social and political agency to direct one’s life, as well as experiences of trauma in context of what used to be ordinary life. Methodologically, the paper explores potential, value and fit of current sociological, ethnological and psychological concepts to analyze personal accounts of political and social upheaval and interpret them as part of a political community’s history, present and future. Approaches like biographic research, life history, oral history and narratives connect individual and collective experience and memory and suggest potential effects on social relationships as well as future socio-political organization for building a post-war order.