Orienting Istanbul: Cultural Capital of Europe?

September 25-27, 2008

Istanbul is one of many world cities that turn to culture to establish a place on the world map. It is also the site of a unique debate on European integration entwined with the memory of earlier Orientalist representations. The selection of Istanbul as one of the Cultural Capitals of Europe in 2010 highlights the social and spatial tensions of staging cities and imagining citizens as consumers of culture. Taking this spectacle in the making as a departure point, this conference brings new research on technologies of government, carried out in the disciplines of architecture, planning, sociology, geography, and anthropology, together with humanistic studies on the production and consumption of literature, art, and film. The panels focus on Architectures of Exclusion, Spaces of Nostalgia, the Cinematic City, Art in the City, and Cultures of Spectacle. Invited speakers include Marshall Berman, Feride Çiçekoglu, Jale Erzen, and Hou Hanru.

This conference is free and open to the public. All panel sessions will take place at the Townsend Center, in the Geballe Room, 220 Stephens Hall, unless otherwise noted.

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EXHIBITION September 24-28, Wurster Hall Foyer

‘Istanbul-Berkeley’ A selection of video works from the 10th Istanbul Biennial, curated by Hou Hanru, featuring works by Emre Huner, Wong Hoy-Cheong, Map Office, Allora Calzadilla.

‘Sounds of the City’ by Gokce Kinayoglu and Wenhua Shi. An installation commissioned for Orienting Istanbul.

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FILM SCREENING: Crossing the Bridge: The Sound of Istanbul 8:45 pm on Thursday, September 25, Pacific Film Archive.