Tensions between the United States and Iran have continued to evolve as it reaches 11 days since the U.S. initiated strikes against Iran. Several Elon University faculty members and students gathered March 10 to help students unpack the history, politics and human consequences behind the conflict.
The panel discussion, Understanding the US-Iran Conflict, was organized by Elon faculty member Dillan Bono-Lunn. The event brought together professors from different academic fields to discuss the issue from political, ethical and religious perspectives.
Bono-Lunn said in an interview with Elon News Network, the goal of the event was to help students navigate a complicated global issue with guidance from experts.
“There’s not just domestic politics, but also international relations, international diplomacy and military strategy,” Bono-Lunn said. “That’s a lot to take on when you’re 19 or 20 years old, let alone some experienced faculty at the university.”
She said in an interview with Elon News Network that creating a panel allowed students to hear multiple perspectives on a situation that can often feel overwhelming.
“I think students are people too, and I think it takes convening a sort of panel of experts to sort of help things along,” Bono-Lunn said. “I think the faculty care about students' understanding and student questions on the issue.”
The panel featured several Elon professors, including political science professor Baris Kesgin, policy studies professor Thomas Kerr, religious studies professor Geoffrey Claussen, religious studies professor Ariela Marcus-Sells and political science professor Jason Husser.
Marcus-Sells explored the religious dynamics influencing how many Americans perceive the conflict, particularly narratives that frame Islam as a threat to Western civilization.
“I think it’s more useful to say that chaos breeds more chaos,” Marcus-Sells said in the panel.
Kerr addressed the broader implications for U.S. foreign policy and the long-term consequences of international conflict.
“Foreign affairs is hard to really place in your everyday life,” Kerr said in an interview with Elon News Network. “Sometimes your gas prices are a little bit higher, but for the most part, what’s happening across the world isn’t affecting day to day. But in the long run, it does affect your life.”
Kerr added that the long-term effects of the conflict could shape American life.
“The consequences of this war will be felt in the American public for a generation to come,” Kerr said.
He also pointed to the role of social media algorithms in shaping what students and the public see in the news.
“Their algorithm doesn’t think that they want it,” Kerr said. “So, unfortunately, we are so reliant and so influenced on past news consumption that unless you’ve already expressed interest in this type of thing, you have to go out and hunt, and people just don’t have the time and energy.”
Throughout the discussion, panelists repeatedly stressed that the future of the conflict remains unknown.
“This was not inevitable,” Kerr said in an interview with Elon News Network. “This was a war of choice, and the outcome is still completely uncertain, and the long-term consequences are even more uncertain.”
Kesgin closed out the panel by reflecting on the cultural and human cost of war, emphasizing that conflict can erase history and culture.
“I just responded to this as a human being,” Kesgin said. “We are risking that we human beings will not get to see rich heritage in Iran as it was before a couple Saturdays ago. That’s the most destructive to me as a human being. Not as a professor, not as a male, but just as a human being.”