Pedagogy and Practice - Decolonising Architectural Knowledge -- Three Contributions

Three contributions on Decolonizing Architectural Knowledge have been published or are now in press.
 

Cultivating a Space for Decolonizing Architectural Knowledge

Ashraf M. Salama & Marwa El-Ashmouni
Joining the calls for dissolving past dominant geographies of architectural knowledge this essay calls for the need for decolonized voices that should emerge in parallel to the western canons of architectural authority. The essay contextualizes what is commonly understood as Muslim societies by reflecting on the contemporary global forces and the associated professional realm. It conceptualizes an understanding of what is 'Islamic' about architecture and then offers a discerning argument on decolonized architectural knowledge. It argues that 'Islamic' in architecture is about the system of values rather than images or forms and that, operationally and practically, the Aga Khan Award for Architecture (AKAA) is a model that reflects these values through the awarded projects and the associated discourse while empowering the construction of a decolonized space of architectural knowledge in Muslim societies.

Salama, Ashraf M., & El-Ashmouni, Marwa. M. (2022). Cultivating a space for decolonizing architectural knowledge. DArjournal: International Journal of Architecture in the Islamic World, 1(1), 26-49. Visit here to download 

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Decolonizing Architectural Knowledge: Situating Middle Eastern Pedagogies in a Globalizing World (forthcoming October 2022)
Ashraf M. Salama

This chapter is premised on more than three decades of research into architectural education and design pedagogy. It argues that architectural education in the Middle East must be able to operate effectively within the global condition. It contends that the body of knowledge on architectural education can be enriched and its scope can be expanded when both historical and contemporary imperatives are clearly contextualized. The text raises important questions for future discussions on this theme. Notwithstanding, it discusses some of the negative idiosyncrasies that follow models inherited from the past and adopt techniques practiced by their Western counterparts. The underlying intention is to call for a decolonized architectural knowledge and thus a framework for incorporating Appreciative Inquiry (AI) as a paradigm for critical consciousness and the way in which key techniques can be utilized. The thrust is to offer students learning opportunities that invigorate their capabilities to shift from passive listeners to active learners and from knowledge consumers to knowledge producers.

Salama, Ashraf M. (2022) Decolonizing Architectural Knowledge: Situating Middle Eastern Pedagogies in a Globalizing World in Mohammad Gharipour and Daniel E. Coslett, eds. Islamic Architecture Today and Tomorrow: (Re)defining the Field (Bristol: Intellect, 2022). Visit the book page on University of Chicago Press

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‘Learning About’ and ‘Learning From’ – Enabling Approaches for Decolonizing Architectural Pedagogy in the Global South (forthcoming November 2022)

Ashraf M. Salama
This chapter establishes an understanding of the roots of Eurocentricity and the evolving quest for decolonization while introducing realizable paradigms to decolonize architectural pedagogy in the Global South. The chapter argues that Global South architectural pedagogy needs to operate effectively within a global world order, but, at the same time, it contends that the body of knowledge utilized can be enhanced, and its scope can be deepened, when both historical and contemporary exemplars are lucidly contextualized and when learning approaches are operationalized to address context specificity. Offering a critique of the impact of Western authority on architectural pedagogy in the Global South the analysis utilizes ‘learning about’ architecture and ‘learning from’ the built environment as metaphors that enable decolonized learning experiences in terms of content and context. Responding to these two metaphors, the Aga Khan Award for Architecture and Appreciative Inquiry (AI) are utilized as paradigms for critical cognizance and inquisitiveness in lecture and theory-based courses. The thrust of this content and approach is to institute opportunities that help empower efforts for decolonizing architectural pedagogy in the Global South.

Salama, Ashraf M. (2022) Learning About and Learning From - Enabling Approaches for Decolonizing Architectural Pedagogy in the Global South in Harriet Harriss, Ashraf M. Salama, Ane Gonzalez Lara, eds. The Routledge Companion to Architectural Pedagogies of the Global South (London: Routledge, 2022). Visit the book page on Routledge