State violence in Egypt is an embedded part of daily life and popular culture, and well documented in social and news media. The uprisings of January 11, which took place in Egypt were organized in large part against violence and torture regularly delivered by police forces. In this dissertation I examine the implications of chronic state violence on everyday life for low-income Egyptians. In doing so, this dissertation provides analysis of how violence shapes forms of intimacy within social life, how it shapes urban landscapes and the politics therein and how it informs individual piety and banal practices of security. This work contributes to studies within feminist geopolitics, memory and emotion within geography by understanding the lives of Cairenes through their experience of the landscape and places they inhabit, maneuver through, and create with the memory and threat of state violence. The project focuses on four selected sites in Greater Cairo: Kholousy Street in Shoubra, Musky Market in Old Cairo, Cairo University in Giza, and Tahrir Square in downtown Cairo. These sites have been chosen because they represent different nodes of daily life (shopping, leisure, education, and political participation) for low-income Cairenes. Research methods include participant observation at the four sites, eleven focus groups and thirty-one interviews with low-income Cairo residents in two age cohorts: one group of participants between the ages of 18 and 26, and a second cohort between the ages of 49 and 57. For each of these questions, this project provides a gender sensitive comparison of the two age cohorts in order to gain insight into the role of youth and memory and gender in Cairenes’ interpretations and representations of the Mubarak era and the recent revolution.

Thesis (M. Arch.)--Carleton University, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 194-197). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

Cette thèse propose une approche qualitative du métabolisme urbain à partir du cas des flux de déchets au Caire (Égypte) et à Lyon (France). Il s’agit de dépasser l’impossibilité présumée de la comparaison de cas d’études a priori très éloignés (selon un axe Nord/Sud) en proposant une grille de lecture centrée sur la multiplicité des infrastructures sociales et techniques permettant la circulation et la transformation de ces matières. Elle se penche plus particulièrement sur les flux dits cataboliques permettant de décrire l’ensemble des étapes de transformations et de circulation de la matière permettant la « mort sociale des objets » entendue comme une protection hygiénique et critique à l’égard de leur dangerosité. L’analyse du déploiement des flux cataboliques à travers les milieux urbains permet ainsi de mettre en avant les formes prises par le contrôle de ces flux. Cette formalisation est ici présentée comme un arraisonnement du milieu, pensé comme une mise en ordre des milieux par des pratiques hétérogènes de codage et de surcodage. Ces notions permettent d’identifier un modèle d’urbanisation occidental pensé comme une mise en ingénierie des milieux urbains (ingénierie mésologique). Cette grille de lecture se conçoit comme un « troisième terme » permettant de faire dialoguer des cas d’étude souvent considérés incommensurables en raison d’une approche tératologique des modèles de développement urbain du Sud. Cette approche est marquée par une volonté de justice épistémologique entrant dans le cadre de la refondation postcoloniale des études urbaines et par la volonté de participer au développement de ce que Souleymane Bachir Diagne nomme un « universalisme de traduction ». À partir de ce cadre théorique sont analysés le fonctionnement et les évolutions historiques et contemporaines des pratiques d’arraisonnement gouvernementales ou non des flux cataboliques au Caire et à Lyon dans le contexte du déploiement du métabolisme capitaliste contemporain. / This thesis intend to formulate a qualitative analysis of urban metabolism based on the study of waste circulations in Cairo (Egypt) and Lyon (France). I propose here an analytical framework centered on multiple social and technical infrastructures allowing the circulation and transformation of matter to overlook assumptions of incommensurability of Northern and Southern urban contexts. Catabolic flows are presented as a way of encompassing the whole of the process of the « social death of things » understood as a practice of protection from the hygienic and critic hazards of waste. Such flows are deployed by an effort of enframing urban milieus through heterogeneous practices of coding and overcoding. Those notions help me to identify an western form of urbanization relying on an engineering of urban milieus (mesologic engineering). This theoretical frame is thought as a « third term » allowing a discussion between cases oftenly considered as incommensurable because of teratological understanding of urban development in the South. The idea is to set up what Souleymane Bachir Diagne calls an « universalism of translation » in line with postcolonial inquiries of a necessary renewal of urban theories through the study of southern urban experiences. Starting there, catabolic flows are studied through the analysis of enframing practices in Lyon and Cairo in the context of contemporary capitalist metabolism.

Magister Artium (Child and Family Studies) - MA(CFS) / HIV patients face an array of social and psychological problems, such as depression, which can affect their quality of life. Moreover, HIV infection is also linked to psychological distress such as anxiety. In addition, avoidant emotion-focused strategies such as acceptance, wishful thinking and self-blame are associated with higher levels of psychological distress in persons with HIV. Current health services in the city of Cairo, Egypt, are not adapted to provide advice and psychological support to people living with HIV to aid in the development of problem-solving skills to cope with the stress of living with HIV. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between quality of life, psychological distress and the coping strategies of persons living with HIV/AIDS in Cairo, Egypt. A quantitative methodology with a cross-sectional correlational design was adopted in this study. Data collection entailed questionnaires that consisted of four sections: Demographics, Quality of Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction Questionnaire (Q-LES-Q), Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scales (DASS) and the Cope Inventory. The sample consisted of 202 HIV/AIDS participants who access the National AIDS Program (NAP). The data were analysed using the Statistical Program for Social Science V23 (SPSS). The results are provided using descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings of the study show that in terms of the prevalence of psychological distress, the moderate scales were stress and depression, while the severe scale was anxiety. The most prevalent of coping styles was emotion-focused coping, specifically in terms of acceptance and religion. In terms of the prevalence of quality of life, the highest scores were for family and social relationships, while the lowest scores were for sexual drive and leisure time activities. The findings also show that psychological distress and certain coping styles such as substance use negatively predicted quality of life of patients with HIV/AIDS. Positive predictors included coping styles such as venting, positive reframing, humour, acceptance and religion.

Le lot de scarabées présenté dans ce travail appartient à l’ancienne collection d’antiquités du roi Farouk (1920-1965). La collection fut confisquée après les événements de 1952. Certains de ces objets, dont les scarabées ici étudiés, furent déposés dans une banque, avec les bijoux de la famille royale. Ils gagnèrent les réserves du musée égyptien du Caire en 1969. Ils sont aujourd'hui conservés dans deux grandes boîtes scellées. Dans ces dernières furent triés 1800 sceaux pharaoniques, dont la majorité était des scarabées. De ce premier lot, une première sélection de 350 objets fut effectuée, de celle-ci une deuxième de 298, à partir de laquelle furent extraits les 114 scarabées étudiés ici.Ces scarabées avaient été achetés sur des critères probablement esthétiques ou parce que dans certains cas ces scarabées sont des curiosités. On ne connaît la provenance d’aucun : ils sont, par conséquent, décontextualisés, sur un plan archéologique. On ne possède, en outre, aucun renseignement sur le lieu d'origine ni même sur l'endroit où ils ont été achetés. On ne peut donc reconstituer le parcours qu'ils ont effectué. Chacun a donc été étudié comme un unicum dans la mesure où on ne pouvait les replacer dans un contexte archéologique.Le principal critère retenu pour mener cette analyse est la lisibilité des hiéroglyphes de la face et la qualité de réalisation du scarabée. Ce choix arrêté, les scarabées ont été examinés dans le détail, mesurés, photographiés et un fac-similé de la face réalisé pour chacun d'eux. D’autres critères ont été également retenus comme la typologie du dos.Le plus ancien de ces scarabées est au nom du roi Chéops de la IVe dynastie, le plus récent date de la XXVIe dynastie. Les autres ne se distribuent pas de manière harmonieuse entre les différentes périodes. Le Nouvel Empire est surreprésenté. Vient ensuite le Moyen Empire et quelques rares scarabées se répartissent entre l'Ancien Empire et l'époque tardive.Les objets ont été classés en plusieurs groupes: les scarabées avec noms de rois avec « parallèles » attestés (A), les scarabées avec noms de rois sans « parallèles » attestés (B), les scarabées avec noms de reines ou de membres de la famille royale avec « parallèles » attestés (C), les scarabées avec noms de reines ou de membres de la famille royale sans « parallèles » attestés (D), les scarabées avec noms de particuliers avec « parallèles » attestés (E), les scarabées avec noms de particuliers sans « parallèles » attestés (F), les scarabées autres avec « parallèles » attestés (G), et les scarabées autres sans « parallèles » attestés (H). Enfin, un commentaire a été effectué. / The lot of scarab beetles presented in this work belongs to the former collection of Antiquities of King Farouk (1920-1965). The collection was confiscated after the events of 1952. Some of these objects, including the scarab beetles studied here, were deposited in a bank with the jewels of the royal family. They were deposited in the archives of the Cairo Egyptian Museum in 1969. Today they are kept in two large sealed boxes. One box contains 1800 pharaonic seals, most of which were scarab beetles. Of this lot, a first selection of 350 objects was made that was then narrowed down to 298 objects, from which the 114 sacarab beetles studied here were extracted.These scarab beetles were probably purchased on aesthetic criteria or because, in some cases, they were curiosities. We do not know the origin of any: they are, therefore, decontextualized, from an archaeological plan. There is no information available on the place of origin or even about where they were purchased, so it is not possible to reconstruct their history. Each has been studied as a unicum since we could not place any of them in an archaeological context.The main criterion used to conduct this analysis was the readability of the hieroglyphs on the face and the quality of implementation (or execution) of the beetle. The choice was made after the scarab beetles were examined in detail, measured, photographed and a facsimile of the face made for each of them. Other selection criteria were applied like the typology of the back.The oldest of these scarab beetles dates from the time of King Khufu of the Fourth Dynasty; the most recent of them dates to the XXVI Dynasty. The others are distributed unequally among different periods. The New Kingdom is over-represented. Then comes the Middle Kingdom. A few scarab beetles are divided between the Old Kingdom and the Late Period.The objects were classified into several groups: scarab beetles with names of kings with "parallels" attested (A), scarab beetles with kings names without "parallels" attested (B), scarab beetles with names of queens or members royal family with "parallels" attested (C), scarab beetles with names of queens or members of the royal family without "parallels" attested (D), scarab beetles with individual names with "parallels" attested (E), scarab beetles with specific names without "parallels" attested (F), scarab beetles with other "parallels" attested (G), and scarab beetles with other "parallels" attested (H). Finally, a comment was made.

In the world today, thousands of humans in developing countries live in metropolises anddepend on garbage for their livelihoods. In Cairo, waste has been taken care of by aChristian minority group called the ‘Zabaleen’.This Bachelor thesis was conducted in Cairo and financed by a Minor Field Studyscholarship in August-October 2012. It focuses on Egyptian citizens’ attitudes towards asustainable recycling system and their attitudes towards the traditional garbage collector‘Zabaleen’. I used focus groups as the main source for collecting data and the technique ofshowing photographs to create a dialog among the participants. The focus groups have led to dynamic and useful discussions that this study is based upon. In conclusion, onecommon attitude that was met in the study indicates the frustration of how dirty the streetsof Cairo are. People all said they wanted a clean Egypt but they felt that no one from thegovernment wanted to put their finger on the solution to this problem.

This project investigates the role of the built environment in securing our practical and social needs. This is done based on research in the context of Cairo, Egypt. Banati foundation is an organisation established in 2010 which works on the rehabilitation and social reintegration of children in street situations in Cairo. This project takes Banati Foundation as its case study, offering architectural solutions to its process of social and psychological rehabilitation.This project required thorough research methodologies including primary fieldwork such as interviews and site visits, making it a project of co-creation. In building up the programme, the architect’s role was transformed to the additional role of a mediator, gathering information, exposing opportunities and assembling ideas.Banati foundation have existing tangible and intangible infrastructures with different levels of care to offer children a smooth transition into a rehabilitated safe, secure and comfortable life. My project aims to complete the cycle by investigating what being part of the Banati family means, and how Banati’s principles and objectives can extend beyond their institutional care, namely: how can young women moving out of Banati’s home transition smoothly out of their care, while maintaining Banatis role as a forever family?With a careful consideration of the social dimension of architecture, this project hopes to facilitate the final stage of care offered to the young women leaving the foundation upon reaching adulthood. The masterplan tackles questions of how to carve an easier path out of Banati’s care and into society for Banati’s graduates through socially aware architecture.

Albert Cossery, known as the ‘story teller of Cairo’, weaves tales of the marginalized living in a city of the global South whose geographies have been impacted by colonial and neocolonial legacy. Cairo’s city and economic spaces have often been theorized as determined and dominated by the forces of neoliberalism, an approach that obscures the experience of residents who contest and evade these forces daily. For example, in “Les Couleurs de l’infamie”, the main character is a robin-hood archetype that revels in observing the resourcefulness of the city’s residents. ‘Alternative’ occupations and spatial uses abound: an unemployed philosopher teaches secretly out of the family crypt and a man has created his own trade in helping old women cross dangerous streets in the city. This paper approaches literature and the act of writing as being more-than-representational. It is a literary geography that considers how the city spaces and economic possibilities of Cairo are performed by Cossery’s writings, and how this performance can be considered an act of resistance.

“We are neither living nor dying, we are something in between” Since the beginning of history, the living and the dead have been separated. This has made it almost im- possible to co-live together under one roof. We, ‘the living’, have even created “deathscapes” which have set a clear boundary between us and them, ‘the dead’. In every society, with its own cultural norms and rituals, they act with the dead in their own way - some are buried, others are burnt, but what is common across all societies is that they are not evident in our lives anymore. Looking at it from an urban perspective, the dead occupy a big patch of land in every city. This acts as a burden, as it makes “forbidden spaces” where the living is not able to be part of it. However, in each topic, there is a lesson that can be learned from it. In this case, it’s a 6km stretch informally and formally built, with a rich history and poor squatters who have no choice except to dwell with the dead. This is City of the Dead, located in Cairo, Egypt. The extreme lack of housing has pushed a part of society to live informally in cemeteries, where they have learned to co-live in the same room as the dead; they’ve embraced the idea of sleeping next to the dead, working and playing on those deathscapes. But ever since the government announced that they will demolish those deathscapes as a part of demolishing all informal settlements in Cairo, the time has come to make a stand against this decision, instead learning from their “life hack” and applying it throughout the City of the Dead – creating a society where the dead and living are not separated, maximizing the lost potentials in cases such as City of the Dead and making them not looked down upon and marginalized. This thesis aims to design the city and improve the lives of people living in these cemeteries, dealing with each case with care and compassion.

This thesis deals with the recent adoption of the Sudanese curriculum at ‘refugee schools’ in Cairo, Egypt. It is based on material collected through qualitative research methods during two field studies. The aim of this paper is to describe how and why the Sudanese curriculum was introduced in Egypt, to outline refugees’ opinions about the curriculum and its adoption,and to analyze the role it plays in view of the overall context of this urban environment. In the theoretical framework, this thesis presents concepts regarding the phenomenon of ‘waiting’. The paper gives an overview of the specifics that refugees are confronted with in urban settings, and highlights the importance of education. Moreover, the thesis presents background information about refugees living in Egypt and their access to rights, and pointsout the obstacles they face regarding public education. The results of this study show that the new curriculum is valued by students, teachers, and parents, as it offers the opportunity to acquire official school documents that are required to enter university. A number of aspects that refugees criticize about the Sudanese curriculum, such as its contents, are also brought up. This thesis concludes that the Sudanese curriculum plays a significant role for refugees in Egypt, as it gives students perspectives for the future and thus has a positive effect on their experience of waiting.