Negotiating conflict in Lebanon : bordering practices in a divided Beirut / Mohamad Hafeda

Includes bibliographical references and index

Introduction: bordering practices -- Administration : Bordering practice 01: hiding : The chosen two -- Surveillance : Bordering practice 02: crossing : At her balcony -- Sound : Bordering practice 03: translating : This is how stories of conflict circulate and resonate -- Displacement : Bordering practice 04: matching : The twin sisters are "about to" swap houses. epilogue: temporal bordering practices of resistance -- Endnotes : temporal bordering practices of resistance

Drawing on innovative research into sectarian-political struggle in Beirut, the author shows how boundaries in a divided city are much more than simple physical divisions and reveals the ways in which city dwellers both experience them and subvert them in unexpected ways. Through research based on interviews, documentation of various media representations such as maps, visual imagery and gallery installations, the book exposes the methods through which sectarian narratives are constructed - arguing for the need to question, deconstruct and transform these constructions. The author expands upon the definition of bordering practice by considering artistic research as a critical spatial practice which allows self-reflection and transformation of border positions. This study offers an alternative view to the mainstream narratives of what is meant by a border, and provides insights, methods and lessons that may be applied to other cities around the world affected by conflict and political-sectarian segregation