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| Semester | fall semester 2021 |
| Course frequency | Once only |
| Lecturers | Iman Hamam (iman.hamam@unibas.ch, Assessor) |
| Content | Few scholars writing about Cairo today have failed to notice the huge billboards that flank major bridges and highways advertising the New City Capital and luxurious gated compounds. The graphic visualizations of the New Capital echo narratives of the Great Exhibitions of the nineteenth century, at the same time that they expand on neoliberal and militarized ways of being. Meanwhile, local business in downtown Cairo have come up against the ongoing rise of Arab Gulf-style malls in the east and west of the capital. Urban planners and geographers have mostly concentrated on delineating the economic, political and social factors that have informed the changes taking place. This course provides an in-depth exploration of the multifaceted transformations taking place in Cairo, and their links with urban capitals in the region. Students will develop a critical understanding of the various ways in which gated compounds, highways and public transportation systems have enhanced an image of a “new” Cairo and erased the possibilities presented by centralized public squares. The course will allow students to address a wide range of questions including: What image of Cairo is being constructed? How does this image match the visual landscape visible through car windows (private vehicles) as opposed to public transport (buses and metro/monorail)? How have state/military enterprises employed “vantage” points to reveal and conceal different parts of the city? How is class constructed through visual boundaries? And what impact have such state/military endeavours had on public space and everyday life and what sites of resistance have emerged in the ten years since the 2011 uprisings? |
| Learning objectives | Students will engage with a diverse body of resources and visual material, including archival photographs and films, maps, publicity brochures, highway billboards, advertisements and street art. They will examine museums, stadiums and underground stations, domestic interiors, and the facades of state facilities and state funded art installations. Readings will be from a broad range of disciplines including film, visual culture, media studies, art theory and criticism, architecture, geography, sociology, anthropology, history, and politics |
| Comments | *** DATES CONFIRMED*** The block course takes place in January from Friday, 14th January to Monday, 24th January 2022. An Introductory online session will take place on Friday, 17th December at noon and will be for 1 hour. Zoom link will be provided by Iman one day in advance. ***Important*** with this irrgegular set up - the system might not show the correct dates. The new dates are confirmed as follows: Session 1 - Friday 14 Jan - 3-9pm Automobilities Weekend read and prep for Session 2 Session 2 - Monday 17 Jan - 10-5pm Networks of Construction Tuesday 18 Jan read and prep for Session 3 Session 3 - Wednesday 19 Jan - 10-5pm Sites of Construction Thursday read and prep for Session 4 Session 4 - Friday 21 Jan - 10-5pm Visualities Weekend read and prep for Session 5 Session 5 - Monday 24 Jan - 3-9pm Resistance The above dates and times are the result of the evaluation of registered students' needs and are accommodating reading times for this special block course under special circumstances and under the consideration of the circumstances for the lecutrer on location - Cairo. |
| Course application | Anmelden: erforderlich ; Abmelden: nicht erforderlich |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Use of digital media | No specific media used |
| Interval | Weekday | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|---|
| unregelmässig | See individual dates | ||
| Comments | The confirmed dates are 14th January to 24th January, accommodating reading times for the course. |
| Date | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|
| Friday 14.01.2022 | 15.00-21.00 | - Online Präsenz -, -- |
| Monday 17.01.2022 | 10.00-17.00 | - Online Präsenz -, -- |
| Wednesday 19.01.2022 | 10.00-17.00 | - Online Präsenz -, -- |
| Friday 21.01.2022 | 10.00-17.00 | - Online Präsenz -, -- |
| Monday 24.01.2022 | 15.00-21.00 | - Online Präsenz -, -- |
| Modules |
Modul: Fields: Governance and Politics (Master's degree program: African Studies) Modul: Kulturtechnische Dimensionen (Master's degree program: Cultural Techniques) Module: Projects and Processes of Urbanization (Master's degree program: Critical Urbanisms (Start of studies before 01.08.2020)) Module: The Urban across Disciplines (Master's degree program: Critical Urbanisms) Vertiefungsmodul Global Europe: Staatlichkeit, Entwicklung und Globalisierung (Master's Studies: European Global Studies) |
| Assessment format | continuous assessment |
| Assessment details | Pass/ Fail |
| Assessment registration/deregistration | Reg.: course registration; dereg.: not required |
| Repeat examination | no repeat examination |
| Scale | Pass / Fail |
| Repeated registration | no repetition |
| Responsible faculty | Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, studadmin-philhist@unibas.ch |
| Offered by | Fachbereich Urban Studies |