Office Hours: The Politics of Help with Professor Matthew Ghazarian
Visiting Assistant Professor of History Matthew Ghazarian sits down with Assistant Podcast Editor Mark Anthony ’29 in this episode of Office Hours to discuss historical and present navigations of complex global crises and the politics of help.
Although aid efforts are often seen as purely altruistic and humanitarian, they are usually influenced by forces that have the potential to both unite and divide communities. How do historical crises, like famine in the Ottoman Empire, inform us of modern humanitarian interventions? And are these efforts always truly helpful, or do they perpetuate divisions? Visiting Assistant Professor of History Matthew Ghazarian addresses these questions, and the ethical dilemmas and hidden consequences of aid. This episode also explores the role historians have in navigating the moral complexities of global crises, reconciling how past events shape current and future humanitarian approaches.
Episode notes and further reading below.
Interviewee: Matthew Ghazarian
Further reading:
- Matthew Ghazarian. Famine, Relief, and Power in the Late Ottoman Empire. https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/international-journal-of-middle-east-studies/article/climate-of-confessionalization-famine-and-difference-in-the-late-ottoman-empire/C95EC4D2A17A7A5095821BC37C66CD5F
Edited and produced by Mark Chammas ’29.
Comments ()