The Muslim Other stands outside the somatic norms of white Dutch society. Thinking through the bo... more The Muslim Other stands outside the somatic norms of white Dutch society. Thinking through the body as a phenomenal lived body, we explore the ways through which the Muslim Other is (re)constructed through embodied encounters and intersections of sensoriality, corporeality, and affectivity in the urban Dutch. We identify how (1) the Muslim Other is (re)produced through a set of multisensorial encounters based on the look, hearing, and touch; (2) Othering is intercorporeally practised; (3) Othering affectively charges the atmospheres of everyday life to the point that even the objects that Muslims carry cause anxiety. We further outline how this Othering trilogy provides avenues of possibility whereby the imposed anger and 'dis-orientation' can potentially be transformed into hope and 're-orientation'.
Often framed in the public discourse as Europe's ultimate Other, Muslims have been heftily debate... more Often framed in the public discourse as Europe's ultimate Other, Muslims have been heftily debated and vastly problematized as violent, unfaithful suspect citizens, unwanted immigrants, part of a bad diversity, and refusal of modernity. Taking the Muslim Other into consideration, we explore young Muslim(looking) passengers' everyday Othering encounters within the (im)mobile spaces of public transport that entangle their bodies with different imaginaries, histories, emotions, and affects. Employing qualitative research methods in a cross-national and interurban study in Amsterdam, Tallinn, Leipzig, and Turku, which offer different dimensions of diversity, size, and history, important for understanding European cities in their complexities, we present public transport as a cross-cultural meeting place with socio-spatial negotiations of difference to study everyday travel experiences of 74 young Muslim(-looking) passengers. We highlight how Othering discourses become part of their everyday travel experiences. In so doing, we investigate multiple modes through which the Muslim Other is (re)produced and Othering is lived out in the networks of their everyday embodied, that is, sensorial, corporeal, and affective, experiences of public transport. In this way, we critically position public transport at the intersection of what it means to experience European cities through riding public transport.
Conceptualizing Othering as an intercorporeal encounter in urban space, the paper explores how Ot... more Conceptualizing Othering as an intercorporeal encounter in urban space, the paper explores how Otherness is lived in the networks of everyday embodied urban living of young Muslims. We provide an in-depth understanding of the ways through which corporeal Othering is spatially organized and practised within everyday urban space felt and lived with different intensities and registered in the sensing bodies of young Muslims as part of their lived embodied urbanism in Amsterdam. We shed light on how the (re) construction of the Muslim Other is spatialized concerning intersectionality, clothing, and stereotyping.
Focusing on the Muslim Other in Amsterdam, the article explores how individual young Muslims embo... more Focusing on the Muslim Other in Amsterdam, the article explores how individual young Muslims embody their agency in the forms of micro-practices and socio-spatial relations. By highlighting the spatio-corporeal aspects of Muslims' presence within urban space, our ethnography foregrounds how young Muslims negotiate identities and belonging within everyday urban spaces of encounter. Dealing with the everyday panoptical white Othering gaze, we describe a range of "unremarkable" ordinary practices and everyday small agencies that young Muslims in Amsterdam adopt including invisibility, challenging whiteness, and accumulating whiteness.
Taking the Muslim other into consideration, this article investigates Muslims' everyday encounter... more Taking the Muslim other into consideration, this article investigates Muslims' everyday encounters within the (im)mobile spaces of public transport that entangle bodies with different histories, backgrounds, and imaginaries. Building on affective atmospheres, I propose an embodied understanding of othering practices and traveling with difference in public transport. Employing (auto)ethnography in Amsterdam, I present public transport as a cross-cultural meeting place with spatial negotiation of difference to study everyday travel experiences of young Muslims. Contributing to the field of mobilities studies, this article bridges the gap in the empirical evidence on the role of public transport, race, and religion in the othering of Muslims.
Often framed in the public discourse as Europe’s ultimate Other, Muslims have been heftily debate... more Often framed in the public discourse as Europe’s ultimate Other, Muslims have been heftily debated and vastly problematised by politicians, pundits, and public intellectuals as unwanted immigrants, part of a bad diversity, problematic, violent, refusals of modernity, secularism, and freedom. Thinking through the body as a phenomenal lived body, we explore Othering as a set of visual, auditory, olfactory, and haptic encounters. Employing an urban ethnography on everyday lived experiences of young Muslims in Amsterdam, the paper investigates multiple modes through which Othering is sensed, lived, and felt through the body.
The shift from Fordism to Post-Fordism has led to the emergence of new socioeconomic arrangements... more The shift from Fordism to Post-Fordism has led to the emergence of new socioeconomic arrangements as well as the proliferation of new urban cultural forms. These developments have coincided with gentrification and the arrival of the new middle classes in inner-city neighbourhoods resulting in the emergence of new consumption spaces and new urban cultures. Focusing on Glasgow's West End with a vibrant urban scene, this paper explores some characteristics of the new urban middle classes and their motivations for frequenting and patronising new urban consumption scenes. Drawn on a case study of specialty coffee bars, the study argues that specialty coffee consumers through their everyday consumption preferences and sharing a set of ethical dispositions and cultural practices, subjectively and objectively define and demarcate their sense of class.
De groei van de stedelijke middenklasse gaat gepaard met ingrijpende veranderingen in het winkell... more De groei van de stedelijke middenklasse gaat gepaard met ingrijpende veranderingen in het winkellandschap. Vooral in gentrificerende buurten worden bruine kroegen en kiloknallers met goedkope grootverpakkingen langzaam maar zeker vervangen door gespecialiseerde koffiebars en ambachtelijke (vega-)slagerijen. Die richten zich vooral op nieuwe middenklassers en geven hen aldus de kans iets van hun eigen identiteit en lifestyle uit te drukken. Maar wie zijn die middenklassers eigenlijk en hoe staan ze in het leven?
Despite the diversity of consumption and class practices of the new urban middle classes within a... more Despite the diversity of consumption and class practices of the new urban middle classes within and between societies, they share some qualities. Focusing on the lifestyles and mentalities of regulars of specialty coffee bars in Tehran, Glasgow and Amsterdam, this study explores common characteristics of this group. Our ethnography suggests that through their everyday consumption practices, coffee people share a set of ethical dispositions and cultural practices among which this article focuses on the metropolitan body, cosmopolitanism and environmentalism. Keywords Specialty coffee, coffee people, the new urban middle classes, the metropolitan body, cosmopolitanism, environmentalism
Exploring the social, cultural, economic, spatial and geographical polarisation of Tehran by look... more Exploring the social, cultural, economic, spatial and geographical polarisation of Tehran by looking at the tea houses and coffee shops as gendered urban spaces.
Spatial planning in border areas in Iran because of long borders and settling more than half of t... more Spatial planning in border areas in Iran because of long borders and settling more than half of the provinces in the country's international borders with neighbouring countries play particular role in the planning system. This article aims to clarify the position of border areas in spatial planning of the country's planning system, identifying its elements, elucidating how these elements relate to other elements, as well as explaining the importance and urgency of addressing border areas planning. Southeast region of Iran, particularly Konarak to Guater Gulf, which due to underdevelopment and drugs issues urgently needs to spatial planning, review as the case study. According to the importance of this district in soil and water boundaries of Iran, passive defence approach is examined in spatial planning. This paper tries to explain spatial planning in mentioned border area in the framework of passive defence strategy by using descriptive – analytical research method. On this basis, according to the features and potentials of the study area and with emphasis on the growth poles strategy, plans with increasing the development capacity and promoting the area's security(passive defence) In four dimension economic, cultural, management and physical.
In order to demonstrate the historical image of a city, historical texts and field surveys are us... more In order to demonstrate the historical image of a city, historical texts and field surveys are usually used. Field surveys and archeological excavations seem to be the only accessible options when there is a shortage of reliable sources and written texts. The question raised in this study is: How can the historical evolution of a city be described before any archeological surmise if there are no reliable historical texts. The purpose of this article is to show the gradual formation of urban texture on the basis of the urban morphology. The historical city of Boshruyeh has been studied by using the descriptive-analytic method. In this regard the historical image of this city has been portrayed by considering the literature and particularly Norberg-Schulz's theory, on three levels: the typological, topological and morphological study of its courtyards using aerial photograph and Geographical Information System (GIS) analysis.
Different research and theoretical approaches have been adopted in the study of music but not man... more Different research and theoretical approaches have been adopted in the study of music but not many have focused on the links between music and urbanism. Relying on the sociology of cultural consumption, this paper identifies different forms of urban living in Tehran by looking at the dominant Persian musical genres in urban spaces. The article categorises relationships amongst music, urban space and urbanism by employing a sociological conceptualisation at a micro level, anthropological investigations and spatial data. Generally, each major musical genre (i.e. traditional, modern/popular and fusion) mostly manifests itself in a specific urban space (i.e. teahouses, streets and coffee shops) within which a distinct form of urbanism (i.e. tea urbanism, everyday urbanism and coffee urbanism) is being practiced.
Economic restructuring has led to the emergence of new socioeconomic arrangements in cities based... more Economic restructuring has led to the emergence of new socioeconomic arrangements in cities based on the cognitive-cultural economy. Furthermore, the arrival of new middle classes in inner-cities has contributed to a renaissance of interest in urban culture and new consumption spaces. Focusing on specialty coffee bars (SCBs), the study explores their spatial patterns and spatial distributions in Amsterdam in order to find the spatial correlations between new urban consumption spaces and their locational economic strategies in terms of the cognitive-cultural opportunities. By employing Geographic Information System (GIS), the findings suggest a positive spatial correlation between urban areas involved in the cognitive-cultural economy and the concentration of SCBs. Although the argued correlation does not imply causation, it provides distinct insights related to the interconnectedness of new urban consumption spaces and their contextual urban economy. The paper also slightly touches upon some of the capabilities of GIS in the field of urban studies and poses some questions for further investigations.
The Muslim Other stands outside the somatic norms of white Dutch society. Thinking through the bo... more The Muslim Other stands outside the somatic norms of white Dutch society. Thinking through the body as a phenomenal lived body, we explore the ways through which the Muslim Other is (re)constructed through embodied encounters and intersections of sensoriality, corporeality, and affectivity in the urban Dutch. We identify how (1) the Muslim Other is (re)produced through a set of multisensorial encounters based on the look, hearing, and touch; (2) Othering is intercorporeally practised; (3) Othering affectively charges the atmospheres of everyday life to the point that even the objects that Muslims carry cause anxiety. We further outline how this Othering trilogy provides avenues of possibility whereby the imposed anger and 'dis-orientation' can potentially be transformed into hope and 're-orientation'.
Often framed in the public discourse as Europe's ultimate Other, Muslims have been heftily debate... more Often framed in the public discourse as Europe's ultimate Other, Muslims have been heftily debated and vastly problematized as violent, unfaithful suspect citizens, unwanted immigrants, part of a bad diversity, and refusal of modernity. Taking the Muslim Other into consideration, we explore young Muslim(looking) passengers' everyday Othering encounters within the (im)mobile spaces of public transport that entangle their bodies with different imaginaries, histories, emotions, and affects. Employing qualitative research methods in a cross-national and interurban study in Amsterdam, Tallinn, Leipzig, and Turku, which offer different dimensions of diversity, size, and history, important for understanding European cities in their complexities, we present public transport as a cross-cultural meeting place with socio-spatial negotiations of difference to study everyday travel experiences of 74 young Muslim(-looking) passengers. We highlight how Othering discourses become part of their everyday travel experiences. In so doing, we investigate multiple modes through which the Muslim Other is (re)produced and Othering is lived out in the networks of their everyday embodied, that is, sensorial, corporeal, and affective, experiences of public transport. In this way, we critically position public transport at the intersection of what it means to experience European cities through riding public transport.
Conceptualizing Othering as an intercorporeal encounter in urban space, the paper explores how Ot... more Conceptualizing Othering as an intercorporeal encounter in urban space, the paper explores how Otherness is lived in the networks of everyday embodied urban living of young Muslims. We provide an in-depth understanding of the ways through which corporeal Othering is spatially organized and practised within everyday urban space felt and lived with different intensities and registered in the sensing bodies of young Muslims as part of their lived embodied urbanism in Amsterdam. We shed light on how the (re) construction of the Muslim Other is spatialized concerning intersectionality, clothing, and stereotyping.
Focusing on the Muslim Other in Amsterdam, the article explores how individual young Muslims embo... more Focusing on the Muslim Other in Amsterdam, the article explores how individual young Muslims embody their agency in the forms of micro-practices and socio-spatial relations. By highlighting the spatio-corporeal aspects of Muslims' presence within urban space, our ethnography foregrounds how young Muslims negotiate identities and belonging within everyday urban spaces of encounter. Dealing with the everyday panoptical white Othering gaze, we describe a range of "unremarkable" ordinary practices and everyday small agencies that young Muslims in Amsterdam adopt including invisibility, challenging whiteness, and accumulating whiteness.
Taking the Muslim other into consideration, this article investigates Muslims' everyday encounter... more Taking the Muslim other into consideration, this article investigates Muslims' everyday encounters within the (im)mobile spaces of public transport that entangle bodies with different histories, backgrounds, and imaginaries. Building on affective atmospheres, I propose an embodied understanding of othering practices and traveling with difference in public transport. Employing (auto)ethnography in Amsterdam, I present public transport as a cross-cultural meeting place with spatial negotiation of difference to study everyday travel experiences of young Muslims. Contributing to the field of mobilities studies, this article bridges the gap in the empirical evidence on the role of public transport, race, and religion in the othering of Muslims.
Often framed in the public discourse as Europe’s ultimate Other, Muslims have been heftily debate... more Often framed in the public discourse as Europe’s ultimate Other, Muslims have been heftily debated and vastly problematised by politicians, pundits, and public intellectuals as unwanted immigrants, part of a bad diversity, problematic, violent, refusals of modernity, secularism, and freedom. Thinking through the body as a phenomenal lived body, we explore Othering as a set of visual, auditory, olfactory, and haptic encounters. Employing an urban ethnography on everyday lived experiences of young Muslims in Amsterdam, the paper investigates multiple modes through which Othering is sensed, lived, and felt through the body.
The shift from Fordism to Post-Fordism has led to the emergence of new socioeconomic arrangements... more The shift from Fordism to Post-Fordism has led to the emergence of new socioeconomic arrangements as well as the proliferation of new urban cultural forms. These developments have coincided with gentrification and the arrival of the new middle classes in inner-city neighbourhoods resulting in the emergence of new consumption spaces and new urban cultures. Focusing on Glasgow's West End with a vibrant urban scene, this paper explores some characteristics of the new urban middle classes and their motivations for frequenting and patronising new urban consumption scenes. Drawn on a case study of specialty coffee bars, the study argues that specialty coffee consumers through their everyday consumption preferences and sharing a set of ethical dispositions and cultural practices, subjectively and objectively define and demarcate their sense of class.
De groei van de stedelijke middenklasse gaat gepaard met ingrijpende veranderingen in het winkell... more De groei van de stedelijke middenklasse gaat gepaard met ingrijpende veranderingen in het winkellandschap. Vooral in gentrificerende buurten worden bruine kroegen en kiloknallers met goedkope grootverpakkingen langzaam maar zeker vervangen door gespecialiseerde koffiebars en ambachtelijke (vega-)slagerijen. Die richten zich vooral op nieuwe middenklassers en geven hen aldus de kans iets van hun eigen identiteit en lifestyle uit te drukken. Maar wie zijn die middenklassers eigenlijk en hoe staan ze in het leven?
Despite the diversity of consumption and class practices of the new urban middle classes within a... more Despite the diversity of consumption and class practices of the new urban middle classes within and between societies, they share some qualities. Focusing on the lifestyles and mentalities of regulars of specialty coffee bars in Tehran, Glasgow and Amsterdam, this study explores common characteristics of this group. Our ethnography suggests that through their everyday consumption practices, coffee people share a set of ethical dispositions and cultural practices among which this article focuses on the metropolitan body, cosmopolitanism and environmentalism. Keywords Specialty coffee, coffee people, the new urban middle classes, the metropolitan body, cosmopolitanism, environmentalism
Exploring the social, cultural, economic, spatial and geographical polarisation of Tehran by look... more Exploring the social, cultural, economic, spatial and geographical polarisation of Tehran by looking at the tea houses and coffee shops as gendered urban spaces.
Spatial planning in border areas in Iran because of long borders and settling more than half of t... more Spatial planning in border areas in Iran because of long borders and settling more than half of the provinces in the country's international borders with neighbouring countries play particular role in the planning system. This article aims to clarify the position of border areas in spatial planning of the country's planning system, identifying its elements, elucidating how these elements relate to other elements, as well as explaining the importance and urgency of addressing border areas planning. Southeast region of Iran, particularly Konarak to Guater Gulf, which due to underdevelopment and drugs issues urgently needs to spatial planning, review as the case study. According to the importance of this district in soil and water boundaries of Iran, passive defence approach is examined in spatial planning. This paper tries to explain spatial planning in mentioned border area in the framework of passive defence strategy by using descriptive – analytical research method. On this basis, according to the features and potentials of the study area and with emphasis on the growth poles strategy, plans with increasing the development capacity and promoting the area's security(passive defence) In four dimension economic, cultural, management and physical.
In order to demonstrate the historical image of a city, historical texts and field surveys are us... more In order to demonstrate the historical image of a city, historical texts and field surveys are usually used. Field surveys and archeological excavations seem to be the only accessible options when there is a shortage of reliable sources and written texts. The question raised in this study is: How can the historical evolution of a city be described before any archeological surmise if there are no reliable historical texts. The purpose of this article is to show the gradual formation of urban texture on the basis of the urban morphology. The historical city of Boshruyeh has been studied by using the descriptive-analytic method. In this regard the historical image of this city has been portrayed by considering the literature and particularly Norberg-Schulz's theory, on three levels: the typological, topological and morphological study of its courtyards using aerial photograph and Geographical Information System (GIS) analysis.
Different research and theoretical approaches have been adopted in the study of music but not man... more Different research and theoretical approaches have been adopted in the study of music but not many have focused on the links between music and urbanism. Relying on the sociology of cultural consumption, this paper identifies different forms of urban living in Tehran by looking at the dominant Persian musical genres in urban spaces. The article categorises relationships amongst music, urban space and urbanism by employing a sociological conceptualisation at a micro level, anthropological investigations and spatial data. Generally, each major musical genre (i.e. traditional, modern/popular and fusion) mostly manifests itself in a specific urban space (i.e. teahouses, streets and coffee shops) within which a distinct form of urbanism (i.e. tea urbanism, everyday urbanism and coffee urbanism) is being practiced.
Economic restructuring has led to the emergence of new socioeconomic arrangements in cities based... more Economic restructuring has led to the emergence of new socioeconomic arrangements in cities based on the cognitive-cultural economy. Furthermore, the arrival of new middle classes in inner-cities has contributed to a renaissance of interest in urban culture and new consumption spaces. Focusing on specialty coffee bars (SCBs), the study explores their spatial patterns and spatial distributions in Amsterdam in order to find the spatial correlations between new urban consumption spaces and their locational economic strategies in terms of the cognitive-cultural opportunities. By employing Geographic Information System (GIS), the findings suggest a positive spatial correlation between urban areas involved in the cognitive-cultural economy and the concentration of SCBs. Although the argued correlation does not imply causation, it provides distinct insights related to the interconnectedness of new urban consumption spaces and their contextual urban economy. The paper also slightly touches upon some of the capabilities of GIS in the field of urban studies and poses some questions for further investigations.
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Papers by Reza Shaker
The purpose of this article is to show the gradual formation of urban texture on the basis of the urban morphology. The historical city of Boshruyeh has been studied by using the descriptive-analytic method. In this regard the historical image of this city has been portrayed by considering the literature and particularly Norberg-Schulz's theory, on three levels: the typological, topological and morphological study of its courtyards using aerial photograph and Geographical Information System (GIS) analysis.
The purpose of this article is to show the gradual formation of urban texture on the basis of the urban morphology. The historical city of Boshruyeh has been studied by using the descriptive-analytic method. In this regard the historical image of this city has been portrayed by considering the literature and particularly Norberg-Schulz's theory, on three levels: the typological, topological and morphological study of its courtyards using aerial photograph and Geographical Information System (GIS) analysis.