Behind the Postcolonial: Architecture, Urban Space, and Political Cultures in Indonesia

by Abidin Kusno

In Behind the Postcolonial Abidin Kusno shows how colonial representations have been revived and rearticulated in postcolonial Indonesia. The book shows how architecture and urban space can be seen, both historically and theoretically, as representations of political and cultural tendencies that characterize an emerging as well as a declining social order. It addresses the complex interactions between public memories of the present and past, between images of global urban cultures and the concrete historical meanings of the local. It shows how one might write a political history of postcolonial architecture and urban space that recognizes the political cultures of the present without neglecting the importance of the colonial past. In the process, it poses serious questions for the analysis and understanding of postcolonial states.

Genres: Architecture, History

266 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2000

Reviews

[Nita Valentin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a rather interesting book. There was no mention of psychoanalysis everywhere in this book and yet it is present in every argument. Abidin Kusno in this book attempted to link the imagination of a postcolonial nation with the architectural discourse. What he found was that the dominant architectural discourse of Indonesia was formed by the socio-political condition it was in. The construction of "Indonesian architecture" was informed by both colonial production of "tradition" and "indigenous" as well as notions of modernity.

[Windry · Rating 4 out of 5]

buku ini bercerita bagaimana politik mampu mempengaruhi bentuk arsitektur yang lahir pada masanya. sangat menarik mengetahui bahwa bangunan-bangunan di sekitar kita ternyata berbau politik dan ada untuk mendikte pola hidu kita, tanpa kita sadari!

[Boghel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think, this book give a really good brief description and understanding about phenomena of architecture, modernity and urbanism in Indonesia which influence by Indonesian political background after National Independence's day.