Diasporic tactics
Name
326878276-MIT.pdf
Description
Full printable version
Size
12.84 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
bd480c83cd42b79eba4ead7a40211ffa
Author(s)
Abdal, Alia Farid
Advisor(s)
Krzysztof Wodiczko.
Date Issued
2008
Publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Abstract
This document acts as the written form of an art practice that can be described by making an analogy between the artist and the itinerant migrant worker. This thesis is an elaboration on certain viewpoints, encounters, and case studies that have lead me to do my actual [art] work. In it I attempt to describe the intricate human processes involved with immigration, adaptation, and transformation, specifically in the case of Villa Victoria: a community of incredible social capital that established itself when urban renewal planners threatened two thousand Puerto Ricans out of their homes in Parcel 19 of Boston's South End during the late 1960s. Personally, I like to accredit the success of Villa Victoria to a form of behavior called "hustling" which most displaced people quickly turn to in order to fulfill their very basic needs. Lately "hustling" has become a strong performative aspect of my work, as in the end, what I am really interested in is discovering forms of power for the oppressed rather than dwelling on the power of the oppressor. Key terms: the neoliberal city, the informal economy, (im)migration, assimilation, hybridity, distinction, rupture, subculture, commemoration, (mis)representation, lyric and sound.
Description
Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 2008.
Includes bibliographical references (leaves 59-61).
Subjects
Architecture.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Architecture
Terms of Use
M.I.T. theses are protected by
copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but
reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written
permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.
copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but
reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written
permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.
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