Rewriting Colonial Narratives

In a two-day symposium held by Cornell University’s History of Architecture and Urban Development program, six doctoral students (Chrionni Bernard Decrepito, Sharon Mizbani, Robin Hartanto Honggare, Javairia Shahid, Saumya Pandey, and Paridhi David Massey) presented their ongoing research related to the exploration of the materiality of colonialism in Asia. Constituting a range of topics of study, the presentations delved into previously uninvestigated impacts of certain material elements on the built environment in the pursuit of expanding and/or challenging traditionally limited historical narratives.

Keynote speaker Nida Rehman opened the event with an insightful presentation titled “Eucalypts at the Climate Threshold.” Her research explored the history of the plantation of eucalyptus trees in British-colonized Punjab (for its prophylactic potential and for lumber) and the resulting effects on the region’s climate. Situating these efforts “within the wider context and narratives of colonial forestry” in India, Rehman uses the eucalyptus as a lens to try to unsettl…