IJIA Dialogues: "Colonial Heritage in a Postcolonial World" (Feb. 21 @ 12:00 EST, GMT-5)

IJIA Dialogues

21 February 2024 | 12:00–13:15 Eastern Time (US and Canada, GMT-5)

Colonial Heritage in a Postcolonial World

Remnants of nineteenth- and twentieth-century European colonialism dot the streetscapes of cities throughout the postcolonial world. Tangible links to the past, these historic built environments also play a vital role in the function and identity of the contemporary postcolony. Within the Islamic world, as globally, such buildings may include government offices, religious structures, schools, and other forms of infrastructure that often stand out amidst examples of recognized ‘traditional’ cultural heritage. What do these inherited colonial-era artifacts mean now, and how have they been contested, conserved, interpreted, and put to use since the advent of independence? What lessons can be learned from them, and what challenges come with preserving the products of such difficult histories in today’s globalizing context?

Join the International Journal of Islamic Architecture (IJIA) for its annual Dialogues session, a webinar that brings together scholars and practitioners from varied disciplines for a discussion of critical contemporary issues that interrogate the boundaries between architecture, art, anthropology, archaeology, and history. In this year’s session, “Colonial Heritage in a Postcolonial World,” IJIA Associate Editor Daniel E. Coslett will be joined by Leila Ben-Gacem, Alaa El-Habashi, and Lahbib El Moumni for a lively discussion on architectural history, heritage preservation, and postcolonial identity, across North Africa and beyond.

Zoom registration

Participants

Leila Ben-Gacem is a social entrepreneur and Ashoka Fellow based in Tunis, Tunisia. She is the general manager of TUNISTORIC and has founded several cultural heritage organizations, including Dar el Harka, Dar Ben Gacem, and Blue Fish.

Alaa El-Habashi is a Cairo-based professor of architecture and heritage conservation at Menoufia University. His research and practices embrace the specificities of local identities and traditions in historic built environments.

Lahbib El Moumni is an architect based in Casablanca, Morocco. He is the co-founder of MAMMA, an association that aims to highlight and preserve Morocco’s modern architectural and urban heritage, and a doctoral candidate at ETH Zürich.

Additional information on IJIA can be found here:https://www.intellectbooks.com/international-journal-of-islamic-architecture