Dr Gearoid Millar and Moritz Ehrmann (ASPR), will present the second paper in this semester’s Sociology Seminar Series on February 23, looking at the findings from their recent paper, ‘The Power of Narratives in Conflict and Peace: The Case of Contemporary Iraq’.
In their talk, Millar and Ehrmann demonstrate the complexities of conflict related narratives of the ‘other’ through three escalatory phases (victimhood narratives, divisive narratives, and violent narratives) and three de-escalatory phases (nuanced narratives, reconciliatory narratives, and unifying narratives).
While doing so, they will show the unique impact of historical events on narratives in Iraq, as well as the capacity for historical events and vocalised narratives to combine to shape in-group/out-group dynamics.
Traditions which had been essential elements of Iraqi society and its cultural heritage became something alien, illogical and unintelligible in the ‘otherizing’ narratives of the Sunni minority
The data for the paper was collected in Iraq by Ehrmann, in his capacity as a humanitarian worker and later as a mediation professional in Baghdad and on the borders of Al-Anbar province, and reflects on how recollections of the era of the former President, Saddam Hussein, are negotiated in the present.
The Sociology Seminar Series will be taking place online and in MR310 in the MacRobert Building, on campus, between 3:30 and 5:00 p.m.. To obtain the link to attend online, please contact Dr Luisa Gandolfo.
For more details on upcoming talks in the series, visit the Sociology Seminar Series page, here.