A Crown Seminar with Jonathan Wyrtzen in conversation with Rana Baker

It is widely believed that the political problems of the Middle East date back to the era of World War I, when in its aftermath European colonial powers unilaterally imposed artificial borders on the postOttoman world. In this Crown Seminar, Jonathan Wyrtzen, in conversation with Rana Baker, will offer a new account of how the Great War unmade and then remade the political order of the region based on his new book, Worldmaking in the Long Great War: How Local and Colonial Struggles Shaped the Modern Middle East. Ranging from Morocco to Iran and spanning the eve of the Great War into the 1930s, Wyrtzen's work demonstrates that the modern Middle East was shaped through complex and violent power struggles on the ground among local and international actors.

Jonathan Wyrtzen is an associate professor of sociology and international affairs at Yale University.
Rana Baker, moderator, is a junior research fellow at the Crown Center.
Naghmeh Sohrabi, chair, is the director for research at the Crown Center and the Charles (Corky) Goodman Professor of Middle East History.

This seminar was recorded on October 12, 2022.