Cairo, 1850–Present
Spring 2024
©️ Omnia El Shakry
Description
This course explores the history of Cairo from the middle of the nineteenth century to the present. We examine various facets of modern Cairo ranging from architectural modernism to urban expressions of Christian and Muslim piety, while focusing on the principal political, cultural, and social factors that have shaped the city.
Themes include political technologies; colonial modernity; artifacts and architecture; workers and students; capitalism, commodities, and consumerism; gender and sexuality; policing and surveillance; urban expansion; piety; the everyday; soundscapes; and the 2011 Uprising. We will mobilize a diverse array of primary and secondary sources, novels, films, music, art, and architecture in our exploration, with an emphasis on work produced in Cairo.
Required Texts
Raymond, André. 2000. Cairo. Translated by Willard Wood. Harvard University Press.
Elshahed, Mohamed. 2020. Cairo since 1900: An Architectural Guide. Cairo: American University in Cairo Press.
El Kadi, Galila. 2007. Architecture for the Dead. Cairo’s Medieval Necropolis. Cairo: The American University in Cairo Press.
Singerman, Diane and Amar, Paul, eds. 2006. Cairo Cosmopolitan: Politics, Culture, and Urban Space in the New Middle East, edited by Diane Singerman and Paul Amar. Cairo: American University in Cairo Press.
Ibrahim, Sonallah. 2001. The Committee: A Novel. Syracuse University Press.
Al Aswany, Alaa. 2006. The Yacoubian Building: A Novel. HarperCollins Publishers.
Lookbooks
Myntti, Cynthia. 1999. Paris Along the Nile: Architecture in Cairo from the Belle Epoque. Cairo: American University in Cairo Press.
Chittock, Lorriane and Schimmel, Annemarie. 2001. Cairo Cats: Egypt’s Enduring Legacy.
Abbeville. Ribière, Jean Pierre and Ibrahim, Sonallah. 1998. Cairo from Edge to Edge. Cairo: American University in Cairo Press.
Reference
Sayyid-Marsot, Afaf Lutfi. 1985. A Short History of Modern Egypt. Cambridge University Press.
Films & Albums:
Snoop Dog Says Read the Syllabus, Snoop Dog (2020, 25 seconds)
Four Women of Egypt, dir. Tahani Rached (2006, 90 minutes)
El Banate Dol, dir. Tahani Rachid (2014, 68 minutes)
Umm Kulthum: A Voice like Egypt, dir. Michal Goldman (1996, 67 minutes)
Electro Chaabi, dir. Hind Meddeb (2014, 77 minutes)
Tabla Dubb. Hassan Khan (100Copies Records, 2007). Available at: Spotify and SoundCloud. The Square, dir. Jehane Noujaim (2013, 105 minutes)