
Reconstructing Beirut
Memory and Space in a Postwar Arab City
Aseel Sawalha(Author)
University of Texas Press
Published on 15. May 2010
Book
Hardback
978-0-292-72187-6 (ISBN)
Description
Once the cosmopolitan center of the Middle East, Beirut was devastated by the civil war that ran from 1975 to 1991, which dislocated many residents, disrupted normal municipal functions, and destroyed the vibrant downtown district. The aftermath of the war was an unstable situation Sawalha considers "a postwar state of emergency," even as the state strove to restore normalcy. This ethnography centers on various groups' responses to Beirut's large, privatized urban-renewal project that unfolded during this turbulent moment. At the core of the study is the theme of remembering space. The official process of rebuilding the city as a node in the global economy collided with local day-to-day concerns, and all arguments invariably inspired narratives of what happened before and during the war. Sawalha explains how Beirutis invoked their past experiences of specific sites to vie for the power to shape those sites in the future. Rather than focus on a single site, the ethnography crosses multiple urban sites and social groups, to survey varied groups with interests in particular spaces.
The book contextualizes these spatial conflicts within the discourses of the city's historical accounts and the much-debated concept of heritage, voiced in academic writing, politics, and journalism. In the afterword, Sawalha links these conflicts to the social and political crises of early twenty-first-century Beirut.
The book contextualizes these spatial conflicts within the discourses of the city's historical accounts and the much-debated concept of heritage, voiced in academic writing, politics, and journalism. In the afterword, Sawalha links these conflicts to the social and political crises of early twenty-first-century Beirut.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Austin, TX
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
15 b&w photos
Dimensions
Height: 216 mm
Width: 140 mm
Thickness: 16 mm
ISBN-13
978-0-292-72187-6 (9780292721876)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
ASEEL SAWALHA is Associate Professor of Anthropology at Pace University in New York City.
Content
A Note on Language Acknowledgments Introduction Chapter One. Beirut: A City in Transition Chapter Two. Downtown in "the Ancient City of the Future" Chapter Three. 'Ayn el-Mreisse: The Global Market and the Apartment Unit Chapter Four. "Beirut Is Ours, Not Theirs": Neighborhood Sites and Struggles in 'Ayn el-Mreisse Chapter Five. Cafes, Funerals, and the Future of Coffee Spaces Chapter Six. Placing the War-Displaced Afterword: Reclaiming Downtown Again Notes Bibliography Index