Deserts are Not Empty
Deserts are Not Empty by Samia Henni, published by Columbia University, Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation in 2022, is a thought-provoking exploration of how colonial and imperial narratives have historically depicted arid lands as “empty” spaces. This edition spans 367 pages and is presented in English, offering a critical examination of the misconceptions surrounding desert territories, which cover about one-third of the Earth’s land surface. The book challenges these colonial portrayals and delves into the complex histories and representations of these landscapes.
Readers will find a rich tapestry of voices and perspectives within this volume, including poems in original languages, conversations with collectives, and essays from various scholars and professionals in fields such as architecture, political science, and social justice. By employing a framework of decoloniality, the contributors aim to unsettle traditional views of deserts, encouraging new ways to see and understand these regions. This multifaceted approach not only highlights the presence of human and nonhuman lives in desert areas but also opens up possibilities for reimagining their significance in contemporary discourse.
Official synopsis Publisher
Colonial and imperial powers have often portrayed arid lands as “empty” spaces ready to be occupied, exploited, extracted, and polluted. Despite the undeniable presence of human and nonhuman lives and forces in desert territories, the “regime of emptiness” has inhabited, and is still inhabiting, many imaginaries. Deserts Are Not Empty challenges this colonial tendency, questions its roots and ramifications, and remaps the representations, theories, histories, and stories of arid lands–which comprise approximately one-third of the Earth’s land surface. The volume brings together poems in original languages, conversations with collectives, and essays by scholars and professionals from the fields of architecture, architectural history and theory, curatorial studies, comparative literature, film studies, landscape architecture, and photography. These different approaches and diverse voices draw on a framework of decoloniality to unsettle and unlearn the desert, opening up possibilities to see, think, imagine it otherwise.
With contributions from Saphiya Abu Al-Maati, Menna Agha, Asaiel Al Saeed, Aseel AlYaqoub, Yousef Awaad Hussein, Ariella Aïsha Azoulay, Danika Cooper, Brahim El Guabli, Timothy Hyde, Jill Jarvis, Bongani Kona, Dalal Musaed Alsayer, Observatoire des armements, Francisco E. Robles, Paulo Tavares, Alla Vronskaya, and XqSu.
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