Right to Heal: Resettler Nationalism and Architecture after Conflicts and Disasters

As part of the 2024-25 R. K. Teetzel Lecture in Architecture Series, this lecture will feature Esra Akcan who will introduce her forthcoming book, Architecture and the Right to Heal: Resettler Nationalism in the Aftermath of Conflict and Disaster (Duke University Press, 2025), and focus on the chapter on climate disasters. This book examines architecture’s role in healing societies after conflict and disasters, focusing on buildings and spaces in relation to transitional justice and energy transition. It identifies areas of political and ecological harm, advocating for their transformation into healing spaces where violence and violations are confronted, and accountability and reparations are established. By framing healing as a right and a holistic form of justice, the book critiques the causes of and opportunistic responses to crises while showcasing architecture’s potential for meaningful restitution. Distinct types of conflicts or disasters are discussed alongside their related architectural programs, revealing connections and incompletions that highlight the ongoing struggle for social, global, and environmental justice involved in the right to heal. The book also introduces the concept of resettler nationalism to provide a nuanced global history and explores the aftermath of the Ottoman Empire’s dissolution and similar global examples.

Esra Akcan is Professor and Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Architecture and board member at the Institute for Comparative Modernities. Akcan’s research on modern and contemporary architecture and urbanism foregrounds the intertwined histories of Europe, West Asia, and Northeast Africa and offers new ways to understand architecture’s role in global, social, and environmental justice. She has written extensively on critical and postcolonial theory, racism, immigration, reparations and transitional justice, architectural photography, translation, neoliberalism, and global history.

This lecture is offered both online and in-person. Registration is required and seating is limited for in-person attendance. Please sign up for the virtual or in-person sections here.