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Abstract
Looking at the late 1940s through the 1960s, this talk examines the process by which labor was depoliticized at oil projects in the Persian Gulf. Using examples from Iran and the Arabian Peninsula, the talk focuses on interactions among imperial governments, local governments, workers, and oil companies. This investigation will highlight the centrality of citizenship for understanding labor relations at oil projects in the region. Specifically, this talk will demonstrate that changing understandings of citizenship, in conjunction with restrictive labor laws and increased corporate contracting, effectively evacuated politics from the oilfields.
Bio
Andrea Wright is the Class of 1952 Distinguished Associate Professor of Anthropology and Asian & Middle Eastern Studies at William & Mary. Her first book, Between Dreams and Ghosts: Indian Migration and Middle Eastern Oil (Stanford University Press 2021), is an ethnography of Indian migration to oil and gas projects in the Gulf. Her second book, Unruly Labor: A History of Oil in the Arabian Sea, will be published by Stanford University Press in October 2024. This book examines the history of labor and oil production in the Persian Gulf and Arabian Peninsula through exploring the relationships among governments, oil companies and mobile workforces.
