E497 | Starting with the nationalist and anticolonial movements of the early 20th century, youth have played an important role in political life in the modern Middle East. But despite their importance, youth often go unrecognized as a category of analysis. In this episode, we speak with historian Dylan Baun about his work on youth politics in interwar Lebanon, exploring the rituals and political practices of groups like Kata'ib (Phalange) and the Progressive Socialist Party which would become key actors in the fighting of 1958 and later on, in the Lebanese Civil War of 1975-1990. We learn how young people forged political community both through and beyond sectarian violence, a phenomenon that Dr. Baun argues became strongly associated with rebellious youth.
More at https://www.ottomanhistorypodcast.com/2021/03/baun.html
Dylan Baun is an Assistant Professor of Modern Middle East and Islamic World History at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. Baun received his Ph.D. in Middle Eastern and North African Studies (History, Culture and Society) from the University of Arizona. He is the author of numerous articles on the history of youth and young people in the modern Middle East, in journals including Arab Studies Journal and International Journal for the History of Sport.
Susanna Ferguson is Assistant Professor of Middle East Studies at Smith College. She writes and teaches on the history of gender, sexuality, and political thought in the modern Arab world.
CREDITS
Episode No. 497
Release Date: 11 March 2021
Recording Location: Nashville, TN / Northampton, MA
Sound production by Susanna Ferguson
Music: Zé Trigueiros
Special thanks to Sam Dolbee
Images and bibliography courtesy of Dylan Baun at https://www.ottomanhistorypodcast.com/2021/03/baun.html
