ABSTRACT
In previous chapters, we have focused largely on the specificities of the colonial
relation and, by implication, on the period of colonialism. As mentioned in the
Introduction, the period of colonialism may seem distant to a generation born in
the last 30 years of the twentieth century, and others thereafter. However, the
historical proximity of this period is such that many people can still give
first-hand accounts of their experiences of colonialism; both as subjects and as
rulers. The proximity of that seemingly distant era explains why many of the
strategies used to construct and exercise colonial authority are still employed
today, although under different guises. Indeed, through the analysis of
architectural case studies this book demonstrates that architecture, as a
pedagogical narrative, is in many ways complicit with the continuation of
colonialist methods of representation which construct the non-western as
inferior. This is achieved, amongst other ways, through the derogatory
inscription of non-western architectures in the hegemonic, and conspicuously
singular, western architectural historicity.
