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World War I opened the door for a French occupation the Middle East, including territory once ruled by medieval Frankish Crusaders, and for the modern-day occupiers, Crusader myths became a propaganda tool. French archaeologists, architects, prime ministers and tourism magnates flocked to the Middle East from 1918 to restore Crusader castles left over from the 1100s. They used the myths and their modern-day archaeological work to justify France’s presence in the region. But these restoration projects also caused discord, including with local populations. This talk will examine one massive castle in particular, the Crac des Chevaliers, to show both the power and the limits of myth when it came to French empire in the Middle East.Sarah Griswold is an associate professor of French history at Oklahoma State University. Her first book, Resurrecting the Past: France’s Forgotten Heritage Mandate was published by Cornell University Press in September 2025. Her articles have appeared in Journal of the History of Collections, Future Anterior: Journal of Historic Preservation, Journal of the Western Society for French History, and War & Society. Her next major project examines the afterlives of Nazi and WWII collaborationist regimes’ material culture from 1944.
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101 E Archer St, Tulsa, OK, United States, Oklahoma 74103
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