Everyday and the Expression of Modernity: 19th-century Architecture and Urbanism in the Islamic World

The entanglement between everyday life and Islamic architecture and urbanism has long been established, yet the 19th-century transformations of this phenomenon remain understudied. Following Westernization and reforms that changed the appearance of cities in the Islamic world, monumental and royal architecture, as the backbone of early modern architecture, was replaced with traces of the mundane and ordinary. This drastic shift has generated divergent narratives linked to the notion of modernity during this period. However, one narrative that holds sway in scholarship is grounded in the civilizational paradigm and overlooks the everyday and the local in favor of the monumental.

This session aims to respond to the recent interest of emerging scholars in offering alternative narratives that shed light on the possibilities of everyday life. It considers the everyday as an analytical framework to trace substantial transformations in the social and political order and their implications on the built environment. This investigation offers an opportunity to delve into the transition of Islamic architecture and urbanism to the modern era by looking at everyday practices beyond Orientalist and essentialist perspectives.

Through interdisciplinary research and examination of rituals, practices, and social dynamics within Islamic architecture, this session aims to deepen our understanding of the lived experiences of individuals and communities across time and space. Session organizers welcome papers that explore the profound connection between everyday life and Islamic architecture through case studies and theoretical analyses.