WASHINGTON, January 8, 2018 – The Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington is pleased to announce that Yasser Elsheshtawy has joined the institute as a visiting scholar.
Elsheshtawy is a professor of architecture specializing in urban research in the Middle East. His scholarship focuses on urbanization in developing societies, informal urbanism, urban history, and environment-behavior studies. In addition to teaching at United Arab Emirates University, he was appointed as the curator for the UAE Pavillion at the 15th Venice Architecture Biennale in 2016. He authored a series of books and publications including Dubai: Behind an Urban Spectacle. He has been interviewed by many media outlets including Radio Monocle, National Geographic, The Guardian, Boston Globe, and ArchDaily. His blog dubaization.com has been hailed by The Guardian as one of the notable city blogs in the world. Elsheshtawy is currently working on a book about the Gulf city provisionally titled: Temporary Cities.
“I look forward to my time here at AGSIW,” said Elsheshtawy, “hoping to add to the incredible range of scholarship that the institute is producing about the region, particularly focusing on urban and architectural developments.”
In welcoming Elsheshtway, AGSIW Executive Vice President Stephen A. Seche said that “the use of public space in the Gulf Arab states and Middle East more broadly reveals a great deal about the dynamism of these societies. With a scholar of Yasser’s caliber on board, we can introduce our American audience, and those elsewhere who care about the region, to one of the key facets of Arab life in the 21st century.”
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The Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington (AGSIW), launched in 2015, is an independent, nonprofit institution dedicated to increasing the understanding and appreciation of the social, economic, and political diversity of the Gulf Arab states. Through expert research, analysis, exchanges, and public discussion, the institute seeks to encourage thoughtful debate and inform decision makers shaping U.S. policy regarding this critical geostrategic region.
