Chapter Identità religiose tra convivenza e conflitto. Per una lettura psicosociale de I guardiani dell’aria di Rūzā Yāsīn Ḥasan

Overview & Synopsis

Rosa Yasin Hasan's novel Guardians of the Air (2009) offers a glimpse into Syrian society prior to the revolution and civil war that devastated the country for over a decade. The novel's central character, Anat, works as a translator at the Canadian embassy in Damascus, allowing her to navigate the interfaith divisions among different religious communities. Acknowledging literature's distinctive ability to mirror reality (Orlando 2007), this article employs a social psychology lens to analyse the novel. Through this perspective, the social and psychological dynamics among the characters are explored. The story revolves around characters who confront the challenges of a tightly compartmentalised society, resembling that of Syria under the Asad regime, where crossing the borders between religious and ethnic communities can be perilous.