Assistant Professor of Architecture and Historic Preservation Michele Lamprakos and Nancy Um of Binghamton University organized an international symposium and roundtable in February, entitled, “Heritage and the Arab Spring,” at the Freer Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. The event brought together archaeologists, anthropologists, architects, architectural historians and preservation specialists to explore the role of cultural heritage in a new and shifting Middle East. Rather than simply mourning the loss of important objects and buildings or proposing means to save them, the symposium explored difficult and unresolved questions concerning the future of the heritage enterprise in an era of great upheaval and uncertainty. The symposium was co-sponsored by MAPP, and held in conjunction with the Marvin Breckenridge Patterson lecture and workshop by Egyptian architect-activist Kareem Ibrahim.
Following the symposium, Michele was invited to appear on WAMU’s Kojo Namdi Show along with Kate Haw, Director of the Archives of American Art, and Cori Wegener, Cultural Heritage Preservation Officer at the Smithsonian Institution. The panel discussed challenges to heritage sites during times of conflict, from World War II to the Arab Spring.
The symposium will be covered in the April issue of the American Historical Association's journal, Perspectives on History.
For Michele’s appearance on the Kojo Namdi Show: