Episode 5: Identifying with Each Side & with a Community that Transcends Sides
The second part of Ray & Ezra’s conversation with Lerna Ekmekcioglu focuses on the unique insights Lerna offers, as a scholar of Ottoman and post-Ottoman societies and as a Turkish Armenian, on the campus crisis that occurred in the wake of the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct 7, 2023, and Israel’s subsequent invasion of Gaza. Remarkably, Lerna is able to identify strongly with each side of this conflict (and with members of the campus community who identify strongly with each side), but the strongest identification is with the larger institution— MIT— and its potential for bridging and transcending seemingly irreconcilable divides. The discussion also adds new angles on key ideas from episode 3: Inclusion failure Primary identities (vs. university roles and identities) Bonding in response to threat We’re excited to share the fifth episode of the Outsider/Insider podcast, co-hosted by Ray Reagans and Ezra Zuckerman Sivan and produced by MIT Sloan School of Management, Kate O’Sullivan executive producer. This is the second of a two-part episode, which features a conversation with Prof. Lerna Ekmekcioglu, the McMillan-Stewart Associate Professor of History and Director Women and Gender Studies Program at MIT. Below, you can find the show notes and opportunities to provide input. This episode was produced and edited by Lucie McCormick, with assistance from Hamad Al Badi. Audio mixing by Hansdale Hsu. Graphic design by Mimi Phan. Music from Blue Dot Sessions. Ray and Ezra are also grateful for input from many wonderful colleagues and friends in and outside MIT. For complete show notes, please visit the substack page for this episode.