The sakan shababiyy , or the world improvised: Displacement and masculine domestic space in Lebanon.

This article ethnographically examines the sakan shababiyy, a non-familial domestic space shared by young Syrian men living in exile in Lebanon between 2017 and 2020. It explores how these formerly middle-class men cohabit in improvised masculine households as a response to housing discrimination, political repression, and economic precarity, creating a form of domesticity that supports survival and sociality amid displacement. Drawing on Pierre Bourdieu's analysis of the Kabyle house, the study highlights how the sakan shababiyy reverses traditional domestic symbolic orders, reflecting both nostalgic ties to a lost past and adaptive strategies for uncertain futures. The article also discusses the gendered temporalities of exile, the challenges of collective living, and the shifting aspirations of these men as they navigate precarious legal and economic conditions.