Call of Paper: ISLAMIC CITIES IN THE EYES OF EUROPEAN TRAVELERS , DEPICTION AND CONSTRUCTION OF THE “OTHER”: Prague, August 29-September 1, 2012

Prague, August 29-September 1, 2012
Deadline: Oct 1, 2011

Deadline: October 1, 2011

11th International Conference on Urban History
Cities & Societies in Comparative Perspective, Prague (29 August-1
September 2012)

DEPICTION AND CONSTRUCTION OF THE "OTHER":
ISLAMIC CITIES IN THE EYES OF EUROPEAN TRAVELERS (Panel S7)

The Renaissance era is often said to be a significant turning point in
European history, as a period of cultural and economic reformations
that were shaping the identity of the "West." This new identity was
based on a revolutionary shift in knowledge about the world in this
period. Cultural discovery of the non-Western lands, triggered after
the 16th century by European travelers, opened new doors for cultural
and economic exchanges. The "discovery" of new territories by the
Western-eye transformed the 'mystical' orient into immanent
geographies to be visited, explored, recorded, and something to be
depicted. The 'voyage to the Orient', once an exceptional adventure,
evolved into a habit of the Western intellectual. In the corresponding
period of time, the civilizations in Ottoman Turkey, Safavid Persia,
and Mughal India were experiencing diverse socio-political and
cultural developments. The complex layers of political, economic, and
religious struggles, alliances, and rivalries among these empires
gradually impacted on the development of cities in this region. The
progress in geographic discoveries and the ascending habit of
travelling led to inevitable result of the definition of the "other"
as opposed to the identification of the "self". Following this
construction of the "other" and the creation of "non-Western"
cultures, some civilizations were sub-categorized under a homogenizing
term, "Islamic" and the cities in these territories were started being
defined as the "Muslim city". Distinctions between the Muslim city and
the Muslim society against the European city and the European society
were sharply defined. Travelers' accounts played a major role in the
split of the world into East and West. This session aims to discuss
the West/non-West divergence from a different perspective, which is
based on analyzing the travelers' accounts on the "Orient" in the
early modern era. We are searching an answer for how the Muslim city
was defined and depicted by the Western gaze before the heyday of
Orientalism; and proposing to discuss the issues of urban
representation before the invention of photography.
mohammad@gatech.edu; and Nilay Ozlu,
Bogazici University; Department of History;
nilay.ozlu@gmail.com.

All abstracts, maximum 500 words, and a short CV should be submitted
by October 1,
2011.  For more information, please visit the website of the
conference on
http://www.eauh2012.com.



The papers of this panel could address the following issues:

1. What tools were used for the depiction of urban fabric and how
these depictions were interpreted in the West and also in the East?
2. How "Islamic" cities responded to the developments taking place in
Europe in the post-Renaissance era?
3. How was the image of the "Muslim city" literally and symbolically
formed and transformed during this period with regard to the cultural
and political changes in the Western world?
4. What iconic representations were utilized and how these
formulations were transformed within the rapidly changing social,
political, and economical context of the period?

The papers can analyze the correspondences and discrepancies between
visual depictions and textual accounts and compare various forms of
representation of the cities. The papers could initiate new
comparisons among European and Muslim cities and encourage new
cross-cultural discussions on the underlying factors behind their
urban design and development.

Session chairs:  Mohammad Gharipour, College of Architecture and
Planning, Morgan State University;


 
Dr. EMAD H. ISMAEEL
                  Dept. of Architecture E-mail:        emadhanee@yahoo.com
                  University of Mosul
                  Mosul - Iraq
                  emadhanee@gmail.com
                  http://emadhani.blogspot.com/
Tel :           +964 (0)770 164 93 74
                 

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