Architecture and the Middle Eastern Crisis: A Critical Reading of History
In the context of Israel's intensifying conflict with Gaza, Frank Furedi's 'The War Against the Past' examines the significance of history in architecture. The book critiques the notion of a 'war against the past' associated with cancel culture and political correctness, linking it to the Palestinian struggle. It explores postcolonial discourse from Edward Said's 'Orientalism' (1978) through the works of scholars like Gayatri Spivak and Homi Bhabha, highlighting the recovery of marginalized histories, including the genocide of Native Americans. The architectural critique initiated by Manfredo Tafuri evolved through Janet Abu-Lughod. Notable contributions regarding Israel/Palestine are Eyal Weizman's 'Hollow Land' (2007) and Ariella Azoulay's 'From Palestine to Israel' (2011). The author contends that this conflict is a fight for the past rather than against it.
Key facts
- Frank Furedi's book 'The War Against the Past' published in Italy as 'La guerra contro il passato'
- Book warmly received by Italian press including Paolo Mieli, David Bidussa, Ernesto Galli della Loggia
- Edward Said's 'Orientalism' (1978) became a milestone for discussing culture and imperialism
- Gayatri Spivak authored 'Can the Subaltern Speak?' (1985) at Cornell and Columbia
- Homi Bhabha's 'The Location of Culture' (1994) offered another pillar of postcolonial thought
- Janet Abu-Lughod's 'Rabat: Urban Apartheid in Morocco' (1980) first applied Said's critique to architecture
- Eyal Weizman's 'Hollow Land' (2007) examines Israel's architecture of occupation
- Ariella Azoulay's 'From Palestine to Israel' (2011) documents destruction and state formation 1947-1950
- Fatina Abreek-Zubiedat's 'A Territory in Conflict' (2025) focuses on Gaza's urban architecture
- Native American population declined 80-95% after Columbus, estimated 50-100 million deaths
Entities
Artists
- Marialuisa Palumbo
- Frank Furedi
- Paolo Mieli
- David Bidussa
- Ernesto Galli della Loggia
- Edward Said
- Gayatri Spivak
- Homi Bhabha
- Frantz Fanon
- Cedric Robinson
- Audre Lorde
- Stuart Hall
- Paul Gilroy
- Sylvia Wynter
- Dipesh Chakrabarty
- bell hooks
- Ann Laura Stoler
- Walter Mignolo
- Adom Getachew
- Manfredo Tafuri
- Janet Abu-Lughod
- Gwendolyn Wright
- Zeynep Çelik
- Mark Crinson
- Jean-Louis Cohen
- Eyal Weizman
- Ariella Azoulay
- Fatina Abreek-Zubiedat
- Walter Benjamin
- Antonio Gramsci
- Jacques Derrida
- Cristoforo Colombo
- George Floyd
Institutions
- Columbia University
- Cornell University
- Princeton University
- Harvard University
- University of Toronto
- McLuhan Program in Culture and Technology
- Istituto Nazionale di Architettura
- Artribune
- Corriere della Sera
- Il Sole 24 Ore
- Amazon
- United Nations
- Black Lives Matter
Locations
- Italy
- Gaza
- Palestine
- Israel
- United States
- Americas
- Morocco
- Rabat
- Algeria
- India
- Francoforte
- Europa
- Occidente