Three Historiographers Convene for Academic Exchange Session
During the fall semester, three MacMillan visiting scholars shared their in-progress historiographical research with the MacMillan community. Each talk was followed by a thoughtful Q&A session between the speaker and their attendees.
Marina Pérez de Arcos, Ph.D, is a twentieth-century international relations scholar and EU Global Fellow at the MacMillan Center. She delivered the first talk, entitled “CAREing for the Enemy: American Humanitarian Aid to Postwar Austria.”
In this talk, Dr. Pérez de Arcos outlined the motivations and history of the C.A.R.E. international relief organization, which began as an American humanitarian aid mission to post–World War II Austria. The organization’s acronym originally stood for “Cooperative for American Remittances to Europe.” This has since changed to “Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere.” The scholar explained how CARE repurposed extra soldier meal packages into care packages, feeding a third of Austrian families in the postwar period.
The organization was a collaborative effort, comprised of several humanitarian organizations representing various religious and national identities, and backed by the U.S. government.
“They’re feeding empty stomachs,” Dr. Pérez de Arcos explained, “and they’re also feeding minds.” Beyond practical support, the organization supplied books in English to Austrian children and universities, forming a linguistic and cultural bridge between the two formerly warring countries. They also supplied sewing machines and agricultural tools, bolstering the recipients’ self-sufficiency. These exchanges facilitated pen-pal relationships between countries and increased European awareness of United States brands. The history and methodology of the CARE organization invited questions about how countries can meaningfully engage with former enemies, especially through collaborative processes involving individual donations, organizational coalitions, and federal action.
Literary scholar of the early modern Mediterranean, Ghassan Osmat, Ph.D., followed with his own talk, “Historical Transition and Cultural Change in an Archive of Early Modern Christian Arabic Texts (15th–17th centuries).” He drew from sources spanning over 300 years to explain current happenings in the Middle East, challenging prevailing narratives in the field of Middle Eastern Studies, which heavily emphasize the role of modern colonial powers in shifting trends of religious change in the region.
Without seeking to downplay the role of colonialism, Dr. Osmat argued that the birth of a new social order in the Levant, including sectarianism and global religious movements, was already underway by the 15th century.
Drawing from manuscripts and artwork created over a four-century period, the historian detailed shifts in Syriac, Aramaic, and Arabic religious writing to trace corresponding changes in class structure and religious tensions. Dr. Osmat also discussed rising sectarianism and regional clashes between and among Christian and Muslim groups during this period.
Sahar Bostock, Ph.D. , an Agrarian Studies Program Fellow, delivered the final talk: “Producing the Desert: Infrastructure Disassembly and the Peripheralization of Southern Palestine.” Broadly, her talk discussed how the destruction of existing infrastructure by the British Mandate produced Southern Palestine as an “empty” desert, an image that then supported the Israeli military’s displacement of its residents and the subsequent Israeli endeavor to “make the desert bloom.” The British Mandate of Palestine, granted to the British government by the League of Nations in 1922, was meant to support the development of the Ottoman Empire’s former territories until they were eligible for self-determination and government.
Since technological infrastructure was seen as a component of a developed, modern society, narratives of an empty space and underdeveloped urban infrastructure were needed to justify the continuation of British colonial rule.
Dr. Bostock used the story of the construction and disassembly of the Beersheba railways as a case study for this phenomenon. The Ottoman Empire had used the construction of the railway as evidence that they were developing and modernizing Bedouin Arabs. Dr. Bostock argued that under the British Mandate, railway systems were constructed and dismantled in ways that limited Beersheba residents’ mobility, alongside other forms of government disinvestment in Southern Palestinian infrastructure. Consequently, late-twentieth-century initiatives to “make the desert bloom” ignored local development initiatives and previous acts of colonial disassembly.
The MacMillan Center welcomes over 100 visiting faculty and scholars each year. Through teaching, mentorship, and seminar participation, they enrich the intellectual experiences of students and faculty members. The program fosters connections and collaborations that might not have formed otherwise, enhancing Yale’s intellectual vitality. More information about the program and how to become a visiting scholar is available on the Visiting Scholars website.
Story written by Michelle Foley, Woodbridge Fellow at the MacMillan Center.