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IDENTITY + PLACE MEANINGS

Identity and Place Meanings

Architecture is a rich material expression of political power. It can not only host explicit symbolic references but can be indicative of more implicit politics through its ties to state funding, shifts in economic industries, erasure of existing property, and exclusion of certain societal groups through programming. Thus, in relation to state-led construction, examining political rhetoric in architecture can provide great insight into the objectives of governments as they relate to state, sub-state, and international politics, particularly at times of political transition. Architecture is also capable of encompassing the everyday narratives of a population itself, a process that complicates and adds nuance to those narratives first formulated by the commissioning client. This domain of understanding meaning in architecture represents a crucial area of research, as core questions related to collective identity are ultimately as fundamental to successful urban development as security and economic structures. Indeed, misguided development policies could lead to the counterproductive deterioration of both national security and economic prosperity. Foregrounding developments in Eurasia, this work delves into issues of identity and place meanings.

Our work on identity and place meanings includes the following:

Public Lecture - Land and Memory

Partner Suzanne Harris-Brandts moderates a panel discussion on land and memory organized by D.Talks . The evening was hosted in partnership with the Calgary Public Library. It started with an introduction by Kelli Morning Bull and a blessing by Elder Treffrey Deerfoot who brought forward ideas of not wanting to over-harvest resources and of welcoming newcomers. There was much in this blessing that started the discussion on the right foot, that of revealing a connection to the land.

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Public Lecture - Friendship, Modernization, or Hegemony?

EURUS in conjunction with the Azrieli Schol of Architecture and Urbanism hosted an online talk with Carleton’s Dr. Suzanne Harris-Brandts and Dr. David Sichinava on “Friendship, Modernization, or Hegemony? Exploring Soft Power Design Narratives and Politics in the Conversion of Tbilisi’s Institute of Marx, Engels, and Lenin Building,” November 19, 2020.

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Full list of research

PUBLICATIONS

Harris-Brandts, S. (2024). Heritage Diplomacy, Neo-Ottomanism, and a Local Quest for a New Place of Worship: The Politics of Mosque Building in Batumi, Georgia. Fabrications, 34(2). Special issue: What is “shared”? Architectural Heritage in Conflict, (Guest Editors: Savia Palate and Panayiota Pyla), 1-22.

Harris-Brandts, S., Gogishvili, D., & Sichinava, D.  (2024). #SpendYourSummerInGeorgia: Popular Geopolitics and Tourism Marketing in Georgia-Russian Relations, Social and Cultural Geography, 1-19.

Harris-Brandts, S., & Sichinava, D. (2022). The Politics of Urban Recovery in a Stalinist-era Resort Town: Heritage Tourism and Displaced Communities in Tskaltubo, Georgia. In Al-Harithy, H. (Ed.), Urban Recovery: Intersecting Displacement with Post War Reconstruction. Routledge.

Sichinava, D. (2021). A view of the pandemic from the city of balconies. In Gurgenidze, T. (Ed.). Eastern Block Stories: Visualising Housing Estates from Post-Socialist Cities. 134-140. DOM Publishers.

Harris-Brandts, S., & Sichinava, D. (2021). Architecture and friendship among nations: the shifting politics of cultural diplomacy in Tbilisi, Georgia. International Journal of Heritage Studies, 27 (12). Taylor & Francis, 1213-1229.

Gogishvili, D. (2021). Competing for space in Tbilisi: transforming residential courtyards to parking in an increasingly car-dependent city. Eurasian Geography and Economics, 1-27.

Harris-Brandts, S., & Polese, A. (2021). Between Sotsgorod and Bazaar: Urbanization Dynamics in Central Asia. In Van den Bosch, J. Fauve, A. & De Cordier, B. (Eds.), European Handbook of Central Asian Studies: History, Politics and Societies. 887-922. Hanover, Germany: Ibidem-Verlag.

Gogishvili, D. (2020). [Book Review] City of the future: built space, modernity and urban change in Astana. Mateusz Laszczkowski. Berghahn Books. Eurasian Geography & Economics.

Harris-Brandts, S. (2020). [Book Review] Iconic Planned Communities and the Challenge of Change. Corbin Sies, M., Gournay, I, and Freestone, R. (Eds.). University of Pennsylvania Press. Journal of Historical Geography.

Rekhviashvili, L., Sichinava, D., & Berikishvili, E. (2020). Urban protest movements in Tbilisi: movements are strong, but big capital is stronger. In Dariyeva, T., & Neugebauer, C.S. (Eds.), Urban Activism in Eastern Europe and Eurasia. DOM Publishers.

Trubina, E., Gogishvili, D., Imhof, N., & Müller, M. (2020). A part of the world or apart from the world? The postsocialist Global East in the geopolitics of knowledge. Eurasian Geography and Economics. 61(6): 636-662.

Harris-Brandts, S. (2018). The Role of Architecture in the Republic of Georgia’s European Aspirations. Nationalities Papers. 46 (6), Taylor & Francis, 1118-1135.

Harris-Brandts, S. (2017). ‘Europe Started Here’: Nation Building and Myth Production in the Republic of Georgia, Thresholds Journal. 45, Myth, MIT Press, 124-135.

Harris-Brandts, S. (2017). Georgia and the South Caucasus. In S. Piesik (Ed.), HABITAT: Vernacular Architecture for a Changing Planet. London, UK: Thames & Hudson.

Harris-Brandts, S. (2016). Decentralize, Desecularize, and Deregulate! The transformation of Kutaisi, Georgia. In MONU Journal , 25 Independent Urbanism, 86-91. Bruil & van de Staaij.

PRESENTATIONS

2023 - British Association for Slavonic & East European Studies (BASEES) Annual International Conference Glasgow, Scotland, 31 March 2023, “Architecture, Spectacle, and Digital Projections in Astana, Kazakhstan.” Gogishvili, D. & Harris-Brandts, S.

2022 - Bosch Alumni Network’s Sustainability Talks 2021. Berlin, Germany (*online); 30 November 2021. “Greenwashing for State Power Gain: The Manipulation of Iconic Eco Designs under Eurasia’s Authoritarian Regimes.” Harris-Brandts, S.

2020 - Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies (ASEEES) Annual Convention Washington, D.C., USA; November 2020 “Urban Ingenuity in Late-Communist and Post-Communist "Dystopias." Paper: Soviet Paradise Lost? Decline, Renewal, and Fetishized Imaginaries of Tskaltubo, Georgia. Harris-Brandts, S., & Sichinava, D. *Cancelled due to COVID-19

2019 - 19th Annual Aleksanteri Conference: Technology, Culture, and Society in Eurasian Space Helsinki, Finland; October 2019 “Projecting the Future: Novel Technologies of Spectacle in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan” University of Helsinki. Gogishvili, D. & Harris-Brandts, S.

2018 - Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies (ASEEES) Annual Convention Boston, MA, USA; December 2018 *Session Co-Organizers “Nostalgia and Urban Change: The Roles of Selective Remembering and Forgetting in Transforming Post-Socialist Cities.” Harris-Brandts, S., & Sichinava, D.

2017 - American Association of Geographers (AAG) Annual Meeting Boston, MA, USA; April 2017 “The Role of Architecture in Post-Soviet Georgia’s European As pirations.” Harris-Brandts, S.