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Esra Akcan

Professor; Michael A. McCarthy Professor of Architectural Theory, Department of Architecture, Cornell University

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Akcan's research on modern and contemporary architecture and urbanism foregrounds the intertwined histories of Europe and West Asia and offers new ways to understand architecture's role in global, social, and environmental justice. Her book Architecture in Translation advocates a commitment to a new culture of translatability from below and in multiple directions for cosmopolitan ethics and global justice. Turkey: Modern Architectures in History (w.Bozdoğan) is part of a series that aims at an inclusive survey of modern world architecture. Open Architecture: Migration, Citizenship and Urban Renewal exemplifies formal, programmatic, and procedural steps towards open architecture during Berlin's urban renewal by giving voice to both architects and immigrant residents. Ackan is also the author Landfill Istanbul and Building in Exile: Bruno Taut in Turkey (w.Nicolai), and the upcoming Abolish Human Bans. Currently, she is writing Right-to-Heal: Architecture in Post-Conflict and Post-Disaster Societies. Her articles explore critical and postcolonial theory, immigration, translation, racism, architectural photography, neoliberalism, and global history.