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Sociology Research

 

Zeina Al Azmeh is a Centenary Research Fellowship at Selwyn College,
University of Cambridge. She is also a research associate with Cambridge
University’s Centre for Governance and Human Rights and a project
coordinator for the research project Higher Education, States of Precarity
and Conflict in the 'Global North' and 'Global South' at the Faculty of
Education, University of Cambridge.

Zeina holds master’s degrees in social and cultural theory and in music
composition as well as a PhD in Sociology from the University of Cambridge
examining the role of exiled Syrian intellectuals in civil resistance. Her
work sits at the intersection of the political sociology of knowledge, memory
studies and migration studies. More specifically, she studies the cultural
sociologies of knowledge production in exile and their impact upon political
subjectivity with a focus on revolutions and counterrevolutions in the Middle
East.

Research Interests

Zeina is interested in the intersections between cultural trauma, forced
migration, and the sociology of intellectuals, focusing on the role of exiled
intellectuals in the construction of political subjectivities particularly in
the context of revolutionary movements.
Within this framework, her previous work was empirically situated in the
context of the Syrian Uprising (2011). Her past work explored the
relationship between 'nomadic subjectivity' and the idea of home as a place
of fixity, particularly in the contexts of exile and forced displacement.

Teaching

Zeina's teaching engagements have ranged from music theory to an
interdisciplinary course on the Medical Humanities. While eclectic these
opportunities have given her valuable experience in designing, teaching and
organising undergraduate courses.

For the past 4 years, she has been involved in small group teaching at the
University of Cambridge where she supervises papers on a range of topics
including social movements and contentious politics, war and revolutions,
cultural trauma theory, control and resistance in digital societies; and
classical social theory.

Key Publications - Book Chapters

Al Azmeh, Zeina and Du, Xiangyun. 2017. Arts and Medicine: Connecting the Arts and Humanities to Professional Education. In T. Chemi  X. Du, Arts-Based Methods and Organizational Learning. Palgrave Macmillan

Key Publications - Journal Articles

Al Azmeh, Z, McLaughlin, C. Dillabough, J., Fimyara, O., Abdualateef, S., Abedtalas, M. Al Abdullahe, A.Al Oklah, Al-Hussein, Al Ibrahim, Al Mohamad Barmu, Rashid Mamog, Shaban. (2020). Cultural trauma and the politics of access to higher education in Syria. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education. 

McLaughlin, C. Dillabough, J., Fimyara, O., Al Azmeh, Z., Abdualateef, S.,  Abedtalas, M. Al Abdullahe, A.Al Oklah, Al-Hussein, Al Ibrahim, Al Mohamad Barmu, Rashid Mamog, Shaban (2020). Testimonies of Syrian Academic Displacement Post-2011: Time, place and the agentic self. International Journal of Educational Research Open. On-line publication doi: 10.1016/j.ijedro.2020.100003

Dillabough, J., Fimyar, O., McLaughlin, Al Azmeh, Z, Abdualateef, S., Abedtalas, M. (2018). Conflict, insecurity and the political economies of higher education: The case of Syria post-2011. International Journal of Comparative Education and Development. 

Al Azmeh, Zeina. 2014. Nomadic Feminism: Four Lines of Flight. European Scientific Journal. June 2014 /SPECIAL/ edition vol.2

Kassim, Norizan Mohd; Najdawi, Mohamad; Al Azmeh, Zeina; Sadiq, Hissa. 2010. Effects of institutional reform on corporate image and value in a developing country context, Measuring Business Excellence, 14:2 32 – 45

Key Publications - Other

Dillabough J., Fimyar, O., McLaughlin, C., Al Azmeh, Z. and Jebril, M. (2018a) Syrian higher education pre-2011: Literature review and enquiry, Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge – Report.

Dillabough J., Fimyar, O., McLaughlin, C., Al Azmeh, Z. and Jebril, M. (2018b) Syrian higher education post-2011: Literature review and enquiry, Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge – Report.

PhD Supervisor

Patrick Baert

Research Groups & Affiliations

Job Title:
PhD Candidate, Centenary Research Fellow, Selwyn College
Contact Information:
Full CV / Publications: