Marking the sixteenth-anniversary of the the 2003 invasion of Iraq, this event will reflect on the environmental, political, cultural, and social consequences of the 2003 war, as well as visions for Iraq’s future, and will center discussions around the implications, possibilities, and new directions in the study of modern Iraq. Through the panels and keynote address, this event will highlight the legacies of consecutive years of war, violence, and trauma. However, this event intends to move past fatalistic narratives of trauma and violence by highlighting how Iraqis continue to narrate their own histories and represent their identities through artistic, literary, and cultural production, protest against violence, and continue to shape their own future.

Moreover, as Iraq continues to receive scholarly interest by historians, political scientists, artists, and anthropologists alike, and while recent controversies surrounding archives highlight the various ethical questions surrounding research on Iraq, this event invites scholars and students to reflect on both the hardships and the possibilities in conducting research on/in Iraq. In particular, and especially in the graduate workshop, we would like to ask questions about what is at stake with projects on Iraq; what constitutes an archive and what are the ethical implications of using particular archives; what types of histories do Iraqis want told; and finally, how do we address the recurrent problems and cliches within studies on Iraq.

Sponsor Hagop Kevorkian Center Near Eastern Studies NYU

Co-Sponsors:

Department of Middle East and Islamic Studies, Department of History NYU, Department of Anthropology NYU