The Forschungskolleg Humanwissenschaften: Events

Thursday, 10 July 2025, 11:00
Forschungskolleg Humanwissenschaften, Am Wingertsberg 4, 61348 Bad Homburg

Forschungskolleg Humanwissenschaften of Goethe University
FKH colloquium

Nimrod Hurvitz (Ben Gurion University of the Negev)
»Targeting archaeology: Emotions and agenda behind ISIS’s heritage destruction«

Abstract
From 2014 to 2017, after conquering large swathes of Iraq and Syria, ISIS launched a systematic campaign of destruction targeting archaeological sites, museums, mosques, churches, shrines, and libraries. The scale and deliberate nature of this cultural devastation baffled the international community, and in particular, outraged archaeologists, government officials, and heritage preservation advocates. ISIS’s motives were an enigma.

This project seeks to illuminate the worldview and underlying motives driving ISIS's obliteration of religious and archeological sites. The analysis will proceed through four interconnected approaches: examining ISIS's actions within the broader context of religiously motivated heritage destruction; analyzing ISIS's own rhetoric justifying the demolition of such sites; investigating how the group weaponized these destructive acts as propaganda for digital dissemination to both Muslim and non-Muslim audiences; and exploring the emotional responses these actions generated among supporters and opponents. Examining these aspects of ISIS’s campaign of demolition will improve our understanding of their worldview and goals.

The speaker
Nimrod Hurvitz teaches at the Department of Middle East Studies at Ben Gurion University of the Negev. His areas of interest are medieval and modern religio-political movements. In the summer semester 2025, he is a fellow at the Forschungskolleg Humanwissenschaften, on the invitation of Hagit Nol, Junior Professor of Islamic Archaeology, Goethe University Frankfurt am Main. His stay is supported by the project »Islamic Archaeology and Art History« (IAAH) funded by the VolkswagenStiftung.

Participation
Closed event. Contact: Beate Sutterlüty; email: b.sutterluety@forschungskolleg-humanwissenschaften.de