Aga Khan Program: Symposium: Building Like a State - Architecture and Nomad-State Relations in Historical Perspective
Aga Khan Program Lectures and Events
In person only, will not be accessible remotely. Register here.
Throughout history, states and empires have used architecture to subdue and defend against nomadic peoples perceived as troublesome and threatening. Architectural history tends to read such building projects solely as evidence of top-down state control, and to position nomadism and permanent architecture as mutually exclusive. This symposium contests these narratives, highlighting the diversity of building practices among nomadic communities and the nuanced ways in which nomads engage with and respond to state building projects. Through papers offered by historians, anthropologists, architects, and artists, with a global focus spanning North America, Scandinavia, the Middle East, and Asia, this symposium uses architecture as a lens onto understanding and reframing nomad-state relations in the past and present.
