PhD Architecture Public Defense: “Between Nomadism and Settlement: The Architectural Transformation of the Arabian Desert, 1940s-1970s” by Dr. Sarah Alajmi

We are pleased to announce the successful dissertation defense of Sarah Saad Alajmi, PhD candidate in the Architecture program. Her research, titled "Between Nomadism and Settlement: The Architectural Transformation of the Arabian Desert, 1940s-1970s," examines the sedentarization of the tribespeople of Arabia, known as the Badu,  across the Arabian Desert. 

Advised by Prof. Fernando Lara, Sarah’s work focuses on the sedentarization of the Badu,  in relation to oil extraction, the rise of international corporations, and the physical reconstruction of the desert in the mid-20th century. Her study contributes to the scholarship investigating informal settlements and modern housing inhabited by the Badu in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

Following her graduation, Sarah will join Kuwait University as an Assistant Professor. We wish her all the best in her new position.

Dissertation Committee: Prof. Fernando Lara (Chair); Sonja Dümpelmann; Daniel A. Barber.