Thesis (M.Arch.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2009.

Final Project (M.A.)--John F. Kennedy University, 2005. / "August 29, 2005"--T.p. Includes bibliographical references (p.185-198).

Thesis (M Arch)--Montana State University--Bozeman, 2010. / Typescript. Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Ralph Johnson. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 61-62).

African countries have for a long time undergone a series of problems that include; genocide, racism, economic depression, colonisation, civil wars, and so on. These have left many African societies in hopeless situations that entail considerable intervention. This study will explore the possible causes of conflicts mainly genocide and collective violence, in which the 1994 Genocide in Rwanda will be the main focus. This genocide which led to the massacres of one million Tutsi and moderate Hutus in approximately one hundred days left the entire Rwandan society fragile and divided. It is perhaps the worst of its kind in recent history. After the 1994 genocide, Rwanda was characterised with a tattered social fabric, dilapidated infrastructure, economic repression, and as a consequence massive refugees displacement into neighbour countries. Despite the tragic consequences of this genocide, the government of Rwanda has been working tirelessly to find lasting peace arid reconciliation for its broken and divided society. In order to understand the possible causes of this tragic event in Rwanda, this study will explore' the situation in Rwanda in pre-colonial, colonial, and post-colonial periods, and in this case, the 1994 genocide. This analysis will then become a basis on which tools that can foster peace and reconciliation will be sought. Architectural expression among others will be explored as a tool that can promote reconciliation and unity among people. As a tool that shapes peoples way of living, architecture will be the emphasis of this study in order to achieve the above these goals. An appropriate architectural expression will thus sought, that which not only acts as medium for the memory of genocide, but also as a tool to achieve reconciliation and reconstruction of Rwanda's broken society. / Thesis (M.Arch.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2006.

This thesis posits that throughout history, the Western city has been made and understood according to a shared image of the cosmos. It argues that though the contours of this cosmos have changed over time and place, collectively held understandings of the city endure to the present day. Drawing on literary and cultural theory, this way of understanding the city may be conceptualised as ??magical??, that is incorporating knowledge which is hermeneutic and mythical, as well as empirical. The specific example of places of the dead, understood as cemeteries, memorials and other locations at which the dead are actually or symbolically interred, is used in this thesis to test the notion that that the city may continue to be understood as a reflection of world view. Places of the dead provide an appropriate test case for this task, as their forms and locations have clear associations with temporally and culturally specific understandings of the city. This thesis applies textual analysis and discourse analysis to seven case studies of contemporary places of the dead in order to examine the way in which the magic of the city may operate in one typology of place. It considers the representation of these case studies in a large array of texts, with particular emphasis on fictional, and thus potentially ??magical??, texts such as novels, television series and architectural drawings, as well as postcards, movies, cartoons, photographs, songs and paintings. The results of the case studies are used to argue not only that the city continues to be understood using a wide variety of ways of knowing, but also that these alternative epistemologies offer insights into contemporary cities which are not gained through the use of conventional methodologies.

Thesis--Freie Universität Berlin. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 516-539).

No description available.

This thesis explores the meanings which commemoration of the First World War had for contemporaries. It examines the activity of war memorial committees, the conduct of ceremonies, and the interpretations of commemoration offered in newspapers, speeches and reminiscences, to discover how the public response to war was shaped into a formal commemorative practice. It focuses particularly on the erection of memorials, which might be either monuments or socially useful facilities. It is shown that commemoration was conducted through the institutions of local politics, including local government bodies and voluntary associations. Discussions about the choice and design of memorials reflected the political and religious preoccupations of those who contributed to them. Where factions formed around competing proposals for a memorial, they reflected existing divisions within the community. The argument is that commemoration was concerned with far more than mourning the war dead. It had a didactic purpose, and encouraged the discussion of contemporary political issues in terms which related these to the example of good citizenship set by the dead. What commemoration should mean to the general public became a matter for political debate. There was a consensus that the memory of the dead should be kept sacred, but how their example ought to be understood was open to differing interpretations. These differences were expressed through the partisan attribution of meanings to the symbolism of memorials and ceremonies. The sacred task of honouring the dead thus provided an opportunity for adherents of political, social or religious causes to promote their interests, in so far as they could articulate them as reflections on the war and its effects.

This thesis posits that throughout history, the Western city has been made and understood according to a shared image of the cosmos. It argues that though the contours of this cosmos have changed over time and place, collectively held understandings of the city endure to the present day. Drawing on literary and cultural theory, this way of understanding the city may be conceptualised as ??magical??, that is incorporating knowledge which is hermeneutic and mythical, as well as empirical. The specific example of places of the dead, understood as cemeteries, memorials and other locations at which the dead are actually or symbolically interred, is used in this thesis to test the notion that that the city may continue to be understood as a reflection of world view. Places of the dead provide an appropriate test case for this task, as their forms and locations have clear associations with temporally and culturally specific understandings of the city. This thesis applies textual analysis and discourse analysis to seven case studies of contemporary places of the dead in order to examine the way in which the magic of the city may operate in one typology of place. It considers the representation of these case studies in a large array of texts, with particular emphasis on fictional, and thus potentially ??magical??, texts such as novels, television series and architectural drawings, as well as postcards, movies, cartoons, photographs, songs and paintings. The results of the case studies are used to argue not only that the city continues to be understood using a wide variety of ways of knowing, but also that these alternative epistemologies offer insights into contemporary cities which are not gained through the use of conventional methodologies.

Post Apartheid South Africa presents a fascinating platform from which to discuss the complexity and contestations around the creation of memory space. Through examination of multiple modes of dealing with memorials and museums, (the traditional and conventionally understood emblems of authoritative memory), this thesis seeks to explicate how memory is addressed in a society that is attempting to come to terms with a recent past. In so doing, it aims to understand how memory becomes codified into architectural space, how that physical manifestation may be altered over time, and examines some of the complexity inherent in creating new spaces that seek to represent an often volatile and contested past. The traditional palette of the architect: materiality, site, aesthetics and form all contribute to creation of new national narratives and in so doing, reveal the difficulties in revising existing memories as they are articulated through architecture. In order to appreciate how South Africa specifically is approaching memory, I have established a taxonomy that highlights differing modes for dealing with the physicalisation of recollection. Within each case study, questions arise over the success and failures of each modality, which lead to broader discussions about opportunities for gaining insight into how memory space may be addressed in other countries, those facing a colonial past or coming to terms with recent memory themselves. While it does not present a comparative analysis, this thesis seeks to illuminate some of the difficulties inherent in the creation and maintenance of memory space that accurately reflects the population it purports to serve, while generating 'meaningful' architecture. The study is broken down into the following components: TOPPLING TOTEMS The Voortrekker Monument is an examination into existing architectures of an out-dated regime, questioning how meaning is ascribed to architectural space and seeking to understand how easily that significance may be revised. EXPERIENTIAL MUSEUMS The Apartheid Museum presents case studies of how memory is conveyed meaningfully to contemporary society, looking at the international language of museums, questioning how specificity is lost in a desire to situate the past on a world stage. The economy and commoditisation of memory forms a central component of this study. CANNIBALISED SPACE The Constitutional Court offers an investigation into the repatriation of spaces potent as sites of trauma. It examines how sites of trauma become significant places for recollection and presents spatial opportunities for a form of rehabilitation of those sites. SOCIALLY INTEGRATED MEMORY The Red Location Museum presents a study of a new mode of creating official narratives of recollection within a society resistant to official narratives. It looks at architectural solutions to situating memory within the daily life of a society rather then distinguishing official memorials by setting them and by association recollection apart. Ultimately through an examination of the treatment of memory space in South Africa, issues around the complexity of dealing with memory in general become apparent. The aim of this thesis is to draw out some of these narratives so that they may elucidate some of the broader relationships between architecture and collective memory.