Contemporary Amman and the Right to the City
November 3 - 5, 2018
A city of four million inhabitants today, Amman’s expansion has become disproportionate to its urban history. Developing from a small rural settlement at the end of the 19th century, the capital city evolved into a regional crossroad at the end of the 20th century, and has today become a symbol for the consolidation of Hashemite rule. Often referred to as the city of refuge, Amman has experienced an impressive urban growth over the past fifty years driven by forced displacements, changing geopolitical conditions, and large influxes of capital. The city has been perpetually co-produced by its diverse populations, yet both urban policies and market forces continue to extend and reinforce the divisions of urban geographies based on gender, class, and origin.
Despite the growing power of nationalist politics and of neoliberal agendas in shaping the urban trajectory of the city, the simultaneous rise of Amman’s residents associations, youth initiatives and codified everyday practices of resistance have allowed inhabitants to reshape their physical and conceptual interactions within the city, and to practice alternatives imaginaries for shared livelihoods. At this important historical juncture, and fifty years since the publishing of Henri Lefebvre’s seminal text in 1968, this conference seeks to reposition the notion of the right to the city in relation to the particularities of Amman within the context of a global movement toward localized urban projects of direct democracy.
Conference Participants:
Luigi Achilli, Myriam Ababsa, Nabil Abu Dayyeh, Ala Al-Hamarneh, Jalal Al Husseini, Ahmad Al-Mousa, Kamila Ashour, Hana Al Taher, Nora Akawi, Betty Anderson, Gozde Ege, Arij Zaied Dagarah, Rana Beiruti, Daphne Caillol, Jose Ciro Martinez, Rami Daher, Samar Dudin, Jawad Dukhgan, Oroub El-Abed, Nadine Fattaleh, Dina Haddadin, Serene Hleileh, Majd Musa, Falestin Naili, Norig Neveu, Nama’a Qudah, Mohammad Rafieh, Yasir Saqr, Aseel Sawalha, Zachary Sheldon, Beth Stryker, Lucine Taminian, Mohamad Zakaria
Keynote Speakers:
Stavros Stavrides (National Technical University of Athens) in conversation with Pelin Tan (University of Cyprus)
Mona Fawaz (American University of Beirut) in conversation with Safwan Masri (Columbia University)
Adrian Lahoud (Royal College of Art) and Lumumba Di-Aping (Rights of Future Generations Working Group) in conversation with Felicity D Scott (Columbia University)
The conference is free and open to the public, RSVP is required
To RSVP please visit http://amman2018.eventbrite.com
For the full schedule, please visit: https://www.ammanconference2018.com/conference-schedule
For further information, please contact info@ammanconference2018.com
Monday, November 5th:
10:00 - 13:00 - Panel 2: Co-Producing the City: Migrant and Refugee Agency in Amman
Zachary Sheldon (University of Chicago): Urban Spaces of National Politics: The Iraqi Elections in Amman
Luigi Achilli (European University Institute – Firenze): Political Economy and Nationalism Amongst Palestinian Camp Dwellers in Amman
Daphne Caillol (University Paris VII): Employer and Employee Relationships in Domestic Workspace: Impact on Urban Experiences of Migrant Domestic Workers in Jordan
Gozde Ege (University of Washington): From Crisis to Ordinary Precarity: Palestinian Youth as New Practitioners of Humanitarian Governance in Amman, Jordan
Response by Jalal Al Husseini (Ifpo Amman)
Moderated by Ahmad Al-Mousa (Columbia Global Centers | Amman)
13:00 - 14:30 - Lunch
14:30 - 18:30 - Panel 3: Urban Social Practices in Amman
Norig Neveu (CNRS / IREMAM): Orthodox Clubs and Associations in Amman: Cultural, Educational Activities and Regional Networks
Betty Anderson (Boston University): An Ethnographic Mapping of Amman
Aseel Sawalha (Fordham University): “We’re Ammanis”: New Urban Relations Among Affluent Young Adults in Jordan
Ala’ Al-Hamarneh (University of Mainz): “It is our neighborhood”: Right-to-the-City Initiatives from Al-Weibdeh to Fuheis in Amman Metropolitan Area
Response by Lucine Taminian (The Academic Research Institute in Iraq)
Moderated by Nora Akawi (Columbia University)
18:00 - 19:30 - The Rights of Future Generations
Adrian Lahoud (Royal College of Art, London) in conversation with Felicity D Scott (Columbia University)
