“The other of the modern citizen”: Collaborative research project to host exhibit

“I hope people will have some curiosity about why that seemingly simple question might not be that simple as it seems,” said Ezgi Balkanay, an assistant professor at the School of Architecture. She is also one of the primary investigators in a collaborative research venture titled “Where Are You Really From: A quest on Domesticity, Migration and Otherness.” 

This collaborative project was supported by the Research Collaborative Grant Program operated by the Office of Research and Economic Development at MSU. This work is part of a larger study by Balkanay and MSU’s assistant professor Vijaya Tamla Rai, Middle East Technical University (METU) and Kathmandu University (KU) about urban marginality and domesticity in Nepal and Turkey.

To showcase their research, Balkanay and her team created an exhibit that will feature a snapshot into the project. It is scheduled to be shown in Cheever Hall’s lower gallery from April 17 to the 27. 

According to Balkanay, the research follows two examples of informal settlements that have emerged following industrialization, especially in the global south. The research focuses on a gecekondu in Ankara, Turkey and a sukumbasi in Kathmandu, Nepal.

 “Gecekondu is a shantytown settlement in Turkey. The word is from gece — night — and kondu — placed. So, its literal translation would be: placed overnight,” she said. “And sukumbasi is translated as squatter or landless in English. It refers to the squatters or people living on land without legal ownership. The term [squatter] is not always used by the people themselves.”

Balkanay said that the project ultimately showcases the complexity of the question “Where Are You Really From?” by examining migration patterns and revealing how the physical and social displacement of people shapes perceptions of otherness. 

“Migration and otherness are correlated in the context of gecekondu and sukumbasi,” she said. “In the Turkish context, for example, gecekondu areas mushroomed after a massive migration from rural to urban areas. Rural migrants settled in the public lands and green spaces of urban cities. Gecekondu is perceived as the other of the well-designed, well-developed cityscapes and [people in the gecekondu are] perceived as the other of the modern citizen.”

Additionally, with her research, Balkanay addresses the idea of domesticity through the eyes of American political theorist and philosopher Jane Bennett and the idea of “thing power.” 

“Squatter settlers define themselves [and] their identities through the objects [and] items they collect,” Balkanay said. “They are quite proud of their collection of things, and from an architectural standpoint, the squatter settlement is a collection of things. We use architectural drawings, models and the anecdotes they tell to show the collection of things as witnesses of domesticities.” 

Balkanay explained that the definition of home within these communities has been influenced by Western expectations, but does not always fit into a narrow box. “The ideal translated from Western notions doesn’t always fit in the everyday life of local communities,” she said. 

Balkanay said the research was both rewarding and challenging, and emphasized that collecting data would not have been possible without the help of the researchers from KU and METU. “Developing trust in the communities is a challenging task. It requires key informants on the site. Decoding the interviews and realizing nuances requires local knowledge,” she said.  

The upcoming exhibit will feature different forms of representation, such as architectural documentation, mapping, sketches, photographs and video clips from the settlements. 

“And most importantly, an open invitation to the future spectator to contribute to the growing discourse around these themes,” Balkanay said. “The exhibit embraces the fragmented and pluralist nature of the very hard question it asks: Where are you really from?”

Information about the exhibit can be found at https://www.montana.edu/calendar/events/53927.