A Ph.D. student-driven workshop, “Petroleum Modernism: Architecture and Identity in the Gulf,” will take place on Thursday, October 13 from 11:30 a.m.–7 p.m. at 3410 S State St, Room 216, Chicago. This workshop investigates the ways in which the discovery and export of petroleum from the Persian/Arabian Gulf during the first half of the twentieth century led to cultural, economic, and social changes with significant architectural and urban consequences in the region and beyond.

While recent research is focused primarily on exploring contemporary developments, this workshop seeks to present and discuss new historical research regarding key decades between the 1960s and 1980s that witnessed the pioneering efforts to transform the built environment of the Gulf. During those years, despite a shared climate, geography, and culture, most Gulf countries developed distinct ‘national’ agendas that generated different ‘modern’ architectural identities. Against the backdrop of historical ‘modern’ developments workshop participants will also discuss how the national identity of the Gulf countries has been challenged by the rise of a generic globalization.

View a flyer here: Petroleum Modernism Flyer.