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The Syrian Civil War Student Text The Syrian Civil War Student Text PREVIEW Not for Distribution Copyright and Permissions This document is licensed for single-teacher use. The purchase of this curriculum unit includes permission to make copies of the Student Text and appropriate student handouts from the Teacher Resource Book for use in your own classroom. Duplication of this document for the purpose of resale or other distribution is prohibited. Permission is not granted to post this document for use online. Our Digital Editions are designed for this purpose. See www.choices.edu/digital for information and pricing. The Choices Program curriculum units are protected by copyright. If you would like to use material from a Choices unit in your own work, please contact us for permission. PREVIEWDistribution for Not Faculty Advisors Faculty at Brown University provided advice and carefully reviewed this curriculum. We wish to thank the following scholars for their invaluable input to this curriculum: Faiz Ahmed Meltem Toksöz Associate Professor of History, Department of History, Visiting Associate Professor, Middle East Studies and Brown University Department of History, Brown University Contributors The curriculum developers at the Choices Program write, edit, and produce Choices curricula. We would also like to thank the following people for their essential contributions to this curriculum: Noam Bizan Joseph Leidy Research and Editing Assistant Content Advisor Talia Brenner Gustaf Michaelsen Lead Author Cartographer Julia Gettle Aidan Wang Content Advisor Curriculum Assistant Front cover graphic includes images by Craig Jenkins (CC BY 2.0), Georgios Giannopoulos (Ggia) (CC BY-SA 4.0), and George Westmoreland. © Imperial WarPREVIEW Museums (Q 12366). Distribution Maps by Gustaf Michaelsen and Alexander Sayer Gard-Murray. We wish to thank the Carnegie Corporation of New York for its generous support of this curriculum. The statements made and views expressed are solely the responsibility of the author. The Choices Program for Susannah Bechtel Jo Fisher Christine Seguin Assistant Director, Curriculum Marketing and Communications Specialist Administrative Assistant Development Kevin Hoskins Naoko Shibusawa Andy Blackadar Curriculum Developer Faculty Director Curriculum Development Director Kathleen Magiera Mimi Stephens Emilia Figliomeni Administrative Manager Professional Development Director Video ProducerNot THE CHOICES PROGRAM ■ BROWN UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY ■ WWW.CHOICES.EDU Contents Introduction: From Peaceful Protest to Civil War . .1 Part I: French Colonialism to Independence . 3 Ottoman Rule .................................................................3 World War I ...................................................................5 The French Mandate Period ....................................................10 Syrian Resistance to French Rule ................................................12 Syrian Independence ..........................................................16 Part II: The Assad Regimes . 23 Hafez al-Assad and the Authoritarian State .......................................23 Foreign Conflict and Domestic Opposition .......................................26 Establishing President Bashar al-Assad ...........................................32 Part III: The Syrian Conflict . 38 The Uprising Begins ...........................................................38 Expanding War ...............................................................45 Forced Displacement and the Global Refugee Crisis ................................53 Conclusion ...................................................................58 Supplementary ResourcesPREVIEW . 60 Videos . Online Not for Distribution THE CHOICES PROGRAM ■ BROWN UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY ■ WWW.CHOICES.EDU The Syrian Civil War Introduction 1 Introduction: From Peaceful Protest to Civil War he Syrian Civil War and resulting refugee crisis What sparked the Syrian Civil War? Tis one of the defining humanitarian issues of What began as peaceful protests during the our time. The war has killed hundreds of thou- Arab Spring of 2011 resulted in a violent crack- sands of civilians and injured more than a million down by the Syrian government. Demonstrations people. Since 2011, the violence of the conflict has spread nationwide, as protesters denounced prompted about half of the country’s population government oppression and demanded an end to flee from their homes. Nearly seven million to the violent dictatorship of President Bashar al- refugees have fled the country and more than six Assad. Government forces responded with extreme million Syrians are still displaced from their homes violence. The conflict escalated over time, as the within Syria. government continued its assault on the population and armed opposition forces emerged. I had to leave the home that I’d spent thirty While it is frequently referred to as a civil war, “ years building. One day I just had to the conflict in Syria is not just a conflict among close the doors, turn the key, and leave Syrians. Foreign governments such as the United everything behind. I’m seventy-two. No States, Russia, Iran, Israel, and Turkey have been one wants to leave home at my age. But deeply involved in the conflict. I left because I have six sons, and I knew In order to understand the ongoing conflict, it one day the soldiers would come for is essential to investigate Syria’s social, economic, them.… I watched soldiers take away the and political history. In the following pages, you neighbors’ boys with my own eyes. They will have the opportunity to explore the history of were good boys. I’d known them their Syria. In Part I of the reading, you will trace the whole lives. But they were led away like final years of the Ottoman Empire, the period of sheep. They didn’t even speak up because French colonial rule, and the early years of Syria’s if they opened their mouths, they’d be independence. In Part II, you will explore Hafez shot. I knew it was only a matter of time al-Assad’s rise to power, the creation of an authori- before they came to our house. We left tarian state in Syria, and the rule of Bashar al-Assad everything behind, but now my family is in the early twenty-first century. Part III examines safe.” the evolution of the recent conflict in Syria, begin- —Syrian refugee living in Amman, Jordan, ning with the Arab Spring demonstrations in 2011, in a HumansPREVIEW of New York interview, the violent repression of protests by the Syrian December 4, 2015 regime, the worsening civil war, and the resulting humanitarian disaster. © Guillaume Piolle / CC BY 3.0. BY © Guillaume Piolle / CC The Roman Theater in the ancient city of Palmyra, Syria, built in the second century CE and photographed in April 2010. SyriansNot see their country as fora cradle of civilization Distribution and are proud of its rich multicultural heritage. ISIS militants destroyed some of Palmyra’s ancient theaters and monuments when they seized territory in the recent conflict, damaging the Roman Theater in 2017. THE CHOICES PROGRAM ■ BROWN UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY ■ WWW.CHOICES.EDU The Syrian Civil War 2 Introduction Mark Garten, UN Photo 668862. Mark Garten, UN Photo Young Syrian refugees at a refugee camp in the Beqaa Valley in eastern Lebanon, March 25, 2016. Throughout the curriculum, you will explore Note: This period in history is marked by how Syrian social movements and resistance have oppression and violence and has had lasting reper- shaped the country’s history, and consider the ex- cussions for many groups. Please be advised that periences and perspectives of Syrians from the past this text includes firsthand accounts of violence. It to the present. You will grapple with the following is important to be sensitive to your classmates and key questions related to thePREVIEW history of Syria and the the ways in which this history might be a difficult recent conflict: topic to study. • How did the Ottoman Empire rule the region prior to the twentieth century? • What are the legacies of French colonial- ism and foreign involvement in Syria? • How have Syrian social movements and resistance shaped the country’s history? • What are the causes of the Syrian revolu- tion? How did it descend into civil war? • How should the international community respond to the recent conflict and the Nothumanitarian disaster? for Distribution • What do Syrians want for their future? THE CHOICES PROGRAM ■ BROWN UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY ■ WWW.CHOICES.EDU TEACHER RESOURCE BOOK The Syrian Civil War TEACHER RESOURCE BOOK TEACHER RESOURCE BOOK Teacher Resource Book PREVIEWDistribution for TEACHER TEACHER RESOURCE BOOK TEACHER RESOURCE BOOK Not TEACHER RESOURCE BOOK Contents Note to Teachers ......................................................................2 Part I: French Colonialism to Independence Study Guides and Graphic Organizer .............................................3 The Geography of Syria .........................................................7 The Great Syrian Revolt—Analyzing Anticolonial Writings .........................15 Part II: The Assad Regimes Study Guides and Graphic Organizer ............................................21 “Beautifying” Dictatorship: Vogue Features Asma al-Assad .........................25 Part III: The Syrian Conflict Study Guides and Graphic Organizer ............................................30 Refuting ISIS—An Islamic Scholar Rejects Extremism ..............................34 Refugee Stories: Mapping a Crisis ............................................Online
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