Reading Ruins against the Grain: Istanbul, Derbent, Postcoloniality

The ruins of church-mosques, museums, and ancient cities serve as powerful allegories that evoke transcendence amid the desacralized conditions of post-imperial modernities. This study advances the understanding of ruins' functioning across diverse temporal contexts by drawing on the works of Benjamin, Jameson, and Koselleck. Focusing on Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, the Museum of Islamic Art, and the ancient city of Derbent in Daghestan, it highlights the variability of ruins as sites of political mobilization, particularly within a postcolonial framework. The research employs an ethnographic approach to explore these paradoxes, offering insights into how monuments function in contemporary urban spaces.

Gould, R. (2012). Reading Ruins against the Grain: Istanbul, Derbent, Postcoloniality. Culture, Theory and Critique, 53(1), 19–36. https://doi.org/10.1080/14735784.2012.657911