Samia Henni: Architecture of Counterrevolution

The lecture on November 8, 2018, at 19:00 in the Karlín Gallery VI PER will focus on the book Architecture of Counterrevolution: The French Army in Northern Algeria (Architecture of Counterrevolution: The French Army in Northern Algeria, 2017), which examines the causes and consequences of French colonial territorial measures and military counterinsurgency operations in Algeria during its revolution from 1954 to 1962. Throughout this protracted and bloody armed conflict, French civil and military authorities planned and executed not only tactical destruction but also new construction, aiming to firmly control the Algerian population and protect the European communities residing in Algeria. The mentioned study focuses on three interconnected territorial measures: the massive forced relocation of the Algerian population, the mass housing construction program designed for the Algerian population as part of General Charles de Gaulle's Plan de Constantine, and the fortified new administrative city, whose task was to protect French authorities during the last months of the Algerian revolution. After the lecture, there will be a guided tour of the exhibition Concealed Violence: Architecture and the French War in Algeria, which showcases the massive forced relocation of the Algerian population. The tour will focus on the intentions and strategies of "depropagandization" of staged French military film footage, which are presented in the Gallery VI PER.

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