Days of Love and Rage: A Story of Ordinary People Forging a Revolution

Fifteen years ago, in a northern Syrian city, a small group of men and women began a movement that overthrew a brutal dictatorship, carrying out one of the most remarkable experiments in democracy in modern times.

In this talk, based on his recent book of the same title, Anand Gopal, shares the stories of the men and women who led this struggle, and who experienced the highs of camaraderie and the lows of betrayal, including: a budding scholar on the verge of becoming the first in his family to graduate from university, a woman emboldened to join anti-regime forces as threats pile up against her family, a shopkeeper drowning in debt after Syria joins the free market.

Through the lens of a single city in the throes of revolution, Gopal shows the danger that inequality poses to democracy. At the same time, he shows how the particulars of one terrible conflict offer universal truths about authoritarianism and activism, and what propels ordinary citizens to stand against oppression, even as the walls seem to close in on them.

This event is co-sponsored by the Center for Work and Democracy, the Future Security Initiative, the Center for the Study of Religion and Conflict, and the School of Politics and Global Studies.

About the speaker

Anand Gopal is an award-winning journalist, professor of practice at Arizona State University, and a contributing writer at The New Yorker. He holds a doctorate from Columbia University, and writes about conflict, democracy, and inequality. His first book, “No Good Men Among the Living: America, the Taliban, and the War Through Afghan Eyes” was a finalist for the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize. He has won multiple awards for his reporting on Iraq and Syria, including a National Magazine Award, a George Polk Award, and multiple Overseas Press Club awards. His newest book, “Days of Love and Rage,” has been described as “remarkable…a profound meditation on human nature, resilience, and faith…bring[ing] to life the stories of Syrians whose political imagination, fearless actions, and astonishing courage, reveal the depths of human solidarity and sacrifice in pursuit of a better world.”

Logistics

Anand Gopal will be discussing his book in two separate events on Tuesday, April 16, 2026. This event page is for the In-Person, live event, which will be from 4:30pm-6pm in West Hall, Room 135, on the ASU Tempe campus. The event will consist of a talk by Anand Gopal, followed by audience Q&A. A reception with light refreshments will follow afterwards.

Interested in learning about the other, online event, with Anand Gopal on April 16th? Please see the event page for it, linked here!

Registration details:

• Free and open to all.
• Register through the Reserve a Spot Button on this page to guarantee your seat.
• Classes and groups are welcomed to attend! Please contact us at [email protected] directly with your request.

Event contact

Center for Work and Democracy

[email protected]

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