Thinking Urban Violence: Unpacking the Violent Imaginary of Urbanization

Apr
20
12:00 pm
Event Status
As Scheduled
Presenter
Andrea Pavoni

What is urban violence? Challenging the implicit answer that normally accompanies this question (i.e. the violence that takes place in the city), this talk embarks on a genealogical endeavour to unpack the where and the when of urban violence. The underlying presupposition is that the notion of urban violence surfaces at a specific historical and geographical juncture, namely at the dawn of urban modernity. In this context, the processes of urbanisation, industrialisation, and colonisation have been complemented by the surfacing of a novel urban imagination, and a new set of (bourgeois) aesthetic expectations about how (comfortable) urban life should look and feel like. After presenting the book project from which this intervention originates [Urban Violence. Security, Imaginary, Atmosphere (forthcoming 2023, Lexington), co-authored with Simone Tulumello (ICS, Lisbon)], the argument will be developed through the help of 19th century Catalan urban planner Ildefons Cerdá, and 20th century philosopher Peter Sloterdijk.

In-Person event
Location
Posvar 4130
Event Type
Lecture
Contact Email
glass@pitt.edu
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