The SAH Minority Scholars Affiliate Group (MSAG) invites you to participate in the Architectures of Solidarity session and workshop at the 2025 Society of Architectural Historians (SAH) Annual Conference in Atlanta. These events will take place on Saturday, May 3, bringing together scholars exploring solidarity in the built environment.
Architectures of Solidarity (PS44 | in-person session) – Room 217
Session Co-Chairs: Anoma Pieris, Melbourne School of Design, Australia, and Ipek Türeli, McGill University, Canada
8:35-8:50 am
Building Antoine’s Garden: Writing Urban History against the Grain
Arijit Sen, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, USA
8:50-9:05 am
Spatial Solidarities of the Women in Tres Álamos
Ana María León, Harvard University, USA
9:05-9:20 am
Monuments of Feminist Solidarity during the Recent Chilean Social Upheaval
Valentina Rozas-Krause, Bard College, USA; Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Chile
9:20-9:35 am
Collectivity and Dissent: Solidarity Practices of the Mazingira Institute
Anooradha Siddiqi, Barnard College, Columbia University, USA
9:35-9:50 am
Resistance, Occupation and Public Space in Seattle, 1971-2020
Etosha Terryll, Portland State University, USA; Anna Goodman, Portland State University, USA
9:50-10:40 am
Q&A/Discussion
SAH Minority Scholars Affiliate Group Hybrid Workshop
Online (Zoom): Workshop Link | Room 220
Session Co-Chairs: Anoma Pieris, Melbourne School of Design, Australia, and Ipek Türeli, McGill University, Canada
3:35-3:50 pm
Solidarity in St. Augustine: “Dive In” at the Monson Motor Lodge
Arièle Dionne-Krosnick, McGill University, Canada
3:50-4:05 pm
Sweeping Histories: Reinterpreting Archival Intent as Means for Reparation
Adam Lubitz, UCLA, USA
4:05-4:20 pm
From Monument to Countermonument: Meanings of Unity and Solidarity of the Victory Monument of Thailand
Chaipat Ngambutsabongsophin, Swinburne University of Technology, Australia
4:20-4:35 pm
Solidarity in Stitch: The Role of New York Chinatown’s Garment Factories in Establishing Coethnic Feminine Solidarity
Hanyu Chen, UCLA, USA
4:35-4:50 pm
Aurat March: Negotiating Gendered Citizenship in the Urban Grid
Sahr Farooq, University of Melbourne, Australia
4:50-5:20 pm
Q&A/Discussion
5:20-5:40 pm
Business
Call for Papers
Since the 2020’s #BLM protests, “solidarity” has emerged as an important keyword in architecture, with SAH’s leadership declaring: “As a Society committed to the highest standards of debate and critique, we stand in solidarity with the peaceful protesters… who collectively advance the cause of justice and, by their actions, help keep democracy alive.… How does feeling solidarity with protests of racial justice transform our scholarship? This session invites contributions that demonstrate solidarity in the built and constructed environments: What/when are architectures of solidarity? How do architectural historians express solidarity in practice? Papers may examine the role of public places and buildings in galvanising and sustaining minority civic actions and counter cultures at both local and global scales, ranging from the defence of civil liberties, environmental activism, anticolonial and anti-war demonstrations to occupy movements. They may extend the historical awareness of these larger mobilisations to more recent challenges to neoliberal expansion, political hegemony, and environmental exploitation that seek redress for various forms of social and economic discrimination of minority agendas or social groups. Papers may reflect on the temporary appropriation and transformation of urban public spaces for these agendas. They may examine the ephemeral elements and physical architectures of solidarity such as barricades, encampments, public utilities, temporary housing, community spaces and gardens, signage, monuments and art works and also the virtual presences that sustain their politics beyond the temporal limits of a specific event. This panel invites precedent setting scholarship that empowers forms of social engagement and cultures of urban activism and that foregrounds minority agendas.
Get Involved with MSAG!
Dr. Ipek Türeli plans to pass on the torch of the MSAG at the annual meeting. If you are interested in running for co-chair, communication, or outreach positions, please reach out to us.
We look forward to seeing you at SAH 2025!