Leaving "homebase" soon
This time to North Africa
Let’s see what I find
I am extremely lucky to have been given an opportunity to study and research traditional and modern Islamic architecture thanks to a traveling fellowship I received from the University of Southern California Architectural Guild. The title of my study is "Challenging the Limits of Authenticity in the Arab World.
I was one of three recipients of a fellowship received in 2008. Each applicant proposed a topic of study related to architecture and where they wanted to go to accomplish this.One title of study was “Eternal and Temporal Relevance” in Brazil and the other title of study was “Investigating Trails: Unraveling Paths” in South America. I received the Chase L. Leavitt Traveling Fellowship. I want to thank USC Architecture and Mr. Chase Leavitt for this wonderful opportunity.
The main objective of this fellowship is to examine the architectural and urban conservation/ development of Arab cities and how it responds to globalization. The question of architectural authenticity arises in the context of globalization. As the world gets “flatter” and the pressure to participate in the globalized world increases, the Arab world finds that it is the conduit through which other cultures’ standards and values have been introduced. These imported urban identities have found a setting next to what is original and traditional. The Arab city has responded in unique ways to the changes in the global distribution of power. As these cities partake in the global world, they need to make sure that the redefine their identity in a way that makes the city livable for citizens from all social and economic classes.
Ultimately, I want to find out how planners and architects are responding to these changes and what solutions are being proposed for the built environment. I will share and propose ideas and solutions in an exhibition and presentation at the University of Southern California early 2011.
Some things I plan to examine are the following:
1. The role of culture, tradition and religion on architecture and planning
2. Indigenous/historical core vs. modern sprawl growth
3. Islamic town planning
4. Housing and cultural programs
5. The infrastructure of Islamic cities
6. The design of urban plans
But the purpose of this trip is not purely academic. Neither is it just hopping from site to site taking pictures. I believe that fostering cultural exchanges is important in helping the world understand each other. Promoting peace through understanding others – there is too much conflict and violence in the world. Of course, things such as politics can be a huge hindrance to this idea. I am not trying to change or save the world, nor am I trying to convince people what they believe is wrong. But I do believe that if we are willing to at least listen to each other, be open and respectful to other ideas and why other cultures are the way they are, we can at least start to live in a more diversified but unified world. As Qingyun Ma, Dean of the USC School of Architecture, once said: “Architecture is a media to participate in social reform, a device to enhance urban transformation and the mixture of cultural differences.”
Immersing oneself in the culture (as I tried to during my time working in Korea) is one way to start to understand a culture. The number one thing I found that is helpful to immersion is communication. And this communication could be wildly flailing your arms and hands to get a point or across or speaking the local language but butchering and adding a strange accent to every word that comes out of your mouth. So I have been studying Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) since February 2010. In no way am I completely fluent but I think this is a start. And to add to that, each of the countries I will visit has a different dialect of Arabic that is spoken. MSA derives from Classical Arabic, which is the Arabic used in the Qur’an (ن القرآ) and is the literary standard across the Middle east and North Africa. This is also one of the official six languages of the United Nations.
So…
Once again, I am leaving “home(base)” for another educational/spiritual/cultural enlightenment trip. I put home(base) in quotes because I really don’t know where that is. One might say it is where my family is. Others may say where my friends are based. The dictionary says it is “the place where you are stationed and from which missions start and end.” I’m still trying to figure out where my home(base) is.
Someone once told me I am like a sailboat in the infinite and continuous blue/green sometimes brown ocean sailing from port to port, occasionally docking on stable ground to see what I can find. I sail from harbor to harbor trying to find that port that will captivate me enough to stay. (At first I thought I was looking for a port that makes me feel “safe or comfortable” enough to stay – but the more ports I explore, the more I realize it is not so.)
I do not ever find that harbor so I raise my sails once again and continue to explore. And perhaps I am okay with sailing for the rest of my life to find that perfect port. At every place I dock, when I leave I bring a layer of discovery with me, either learning about why humans are they way we are, how I can help others and promote peace, what I like and don’t like, or even something as tangible as how to make kim chi. And for the next 19 weeks and 2 days, I am eager to see what North Africa can teach me and what I can share of my own culture.
