Rami Kanafani is a PhD candidate in the History and Theory of Architecture. His doctoral research examines postwar architectural practices in the US that turned the planet as a whole into an object of representation and design. He investigates various institutional and individual attempts to foster a planetary culture within closed ecological systems that forged new relationships between humans, nonhumans, and the environment. Alongside an interest in the rise of environmentalism and its intersection with cybernetics and spirituality, he also explores the relationship between the Anthropocene, posthumanism and architectural history.
When asked to speak about his insights on academic conferences and his experience, Rami noted:
Conferences have a dual role for me: one is an incentive to write; the other is an opportunity to receive critiques, comments, and suggestions on my research. Being ABD has its own set of challenges, one of which is finding the proper structure and willpower to produce good writing. The pressure of having to present at a conference compels me to produce pieces of writing that go into my dissertation. It is also an opportunity to meet with scholars, listen to their opinions, and become part of a community working on similar or distinct topics I attended my first conference in October 2023 in Iceland. My paper on the environmental program of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City was accepted to the MoMA-sponsored EAHN conference The Third Ecology. This conference was a great networking opportunity, considering my interests in the relationship of architecture and environmentalism in the post-World-War-II American context. It was also a way to get my ideas out there and receive comments from prominent scholars in the field. In retrospect I can say that both within the official programming of the conference and in the after-hours social gatherings, I received invaluable perspectives on my work from scholars from all career stages and working on different contexts around the world. Being in Iceland was also a unique experience in itself, with organized events and excursions that exposed me to the beauty of the country and the ingenious ways alternative sources of energy are harnessed. I also participated in November 2023 in a conference/workshop at Princeton University entitled Building Life organized by Esther Choi and Spyros Papapetros where I connected with old colleagues and professors as well as new ones. In this conference, ex-students who had taken a version of the “Building Life” course were asked to present their work. The scholarship that was produced was enlightening and set up important conversations about the relationship of architecture and life. Conferences are excellent platforms to test out ideas central ideas to my dissertation and to communicate them to a broad audience, both public and academic.
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