Rapid Modernity and Social Change: The Impact on the UAE
L.D. Carstanjen (TU Delft - Architecture and the Built Environment)
John Hanna – Mentor (TU Delft - History, Form & Aesthetics)
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Abstract
This thesis focuses on the effects of the rapid modernisation of the UAE. And how this impacts the resident as well as local society. This modernisation is characterised by high foreign influence from largely the West, the Arab world, and the Indian subcontinent. The thesis uses post-colonial thought to analyse the intersection of cultures in the UAE, and how this conglomeration of nationalities is able to live together. Cohesive life between nationalities is largely influenced by policy, societal factors, and architecture. The young history of architecture of both housing and public spaces is analysed and used as a tool to discern conclusions on societal impact.
In addition to the secondary impact, an autoethnographic account based on memory and photograph’s is written by the author of the thesis, a former expatriate migrant born and raised in Dubai. Through the intersection between autoethnography and secondary research, principles for further development are endorsed in the conclusions of the text. The use of autoethnography aims to provide a more personal reading experience in which a connection between reader and writer is fostered.
While providing additional information on the topic of the thesis, the method of autoethnography is reviewed, imparting a parallel research to that of the primary topic of the research.