Global and International Studies Building, 2026
Sela researches the regions of Central Asia, South Asia, and the Middle East, studying cultural and political self-representation in the Muslim world. He is primarily interested in the historical, cultural, and linguistic roots – or the perceptions of such roots – that stimulate and shape contemporary issues. He has written about depictions of traumatic “national” events, about alleged sources of inspiration for diverse political acts, about objects of power, ceremony and ritual, labels, genealogies, myths of origin, as well as ethnic and racial markers. Sela is working on a new book manuscript exploring the historical transformations of Turkic and Iranian identities in Asia.