Violence as Seen in Frankenstein in Baghdad

By John Laugenour, Daniel Kleckner, Joey Lewis, Charlie DiNapoli, Charlotte Zhang

Click through the tabs on the left side to navigate around the exhibit. For better viewing pleasure, you can adjust the zoom on your screen to fit everything with the command "cntrl" and "-". If you want some ambience, there is music at the bottom of this tab to accompany your journey.

Unfortunately, the map of the middle east does not make sense, and the best proof of this is to take a look specifically at Iraq, which mixes both Sunni and Shia muslims who have a history of conflict over the practice of Islam. Furthermore, Arib and Kurdish people are squished together in the same borders, two ethnic groups that also have a long history of violence. This border was drawn as a means of splitting up the Ottoman Empire after WWI by White European powers with no regard or knowledge of the inhabiting people. So it is no wonder that this country has been plagued by violence for so many years; it was doomed from the start. Rooting out why violence exists and what perpetuates it is the main focus of Frankenstein in Baghdad. What is a noble goal and pursuit is contradicted by the novel, which mirrors real life conflicts, rather than seeking to end disputes through diplomacy. Every party immediately jumps to violence, and the resulting loss to humanity displays the need for understanding over action. This is what our exhibit hopes to convey.