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Archives
Author Archives: Laleh Khalili
BBC 3 Free Thinking interview with Matthew Sweet
Matthew Sweet of BBC Free Thinking was a brilliant reader of the book, having read closely and with an eye for fetching detail. We talked for about half an hour, and the interview can be heard here (my part of … Continue reading
Recent lecture: Tankers and Tycoons
Here is a link to a talk I have given a few times, most recently at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. It is a talk I am hoping to turn into an article, but which requires a bit more … Continue reading
Publication: A World Built on Sand and Oil
This is probably one of my favourite publications, in part because I was pushed and pushed by Lapham Quarterly‘s superb editors. The essay compares the trade in oil and sand today to think through maritime transportation, the building of infrastructures, the … Continue reading
Publication: The infrastructural power of the military
Drawing on extensive research in the archives of the US Army Corps of Engineers, this article again draws on my concomitant interest in militaries and infrastructure. “The infrastructural power of the military: The geoeconomic role of the US Army Corps … Continue reading
Publication: The Roads to Power: The Infrastructure of Counterinsurgency
It has been years since I posted here, but I am going to quickly provide some links to various publications related to the project here. The first is an article that conjugates my research on transport infrastructures with my counterinsurgency … Continue reading
Domination, Dispossession and Struggle in the Making of Infrastructure and Logistics
Last night (20 February), Deb Cowen (Toronto), Charmaine Chua (Oberlin), Rafeef Ziadah (SOAS) and I had a conversation about the politics of infrastructure and logistics. Here is the recording for the event:
Offshore
In one of the most significant environmental decisions the Trump administration has taken, a ban on offshore drilling was lifted on 4 January 2018. The New York Times reported: While the plan puts the administration squarely on the side of … Continue reading
Posted in environment, infrastructure, oil, political economy
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Religious fable about infrastructure
Source: Siyar al-Muluk by Nizam al-Mulk (died, 1092). Translation by Navīd Zarrinnal: “”They say when Umar was about to leave this world, his son asked him: “When will I see you?” Umar replied: “In the next world.” His son said: “I … Continue reading
Posted in infrastructure, Uncategorized
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The use of free ports to stash arts
Interesting older item from New York Times on the use of free ports to stash away artworks (and other contraband): The drab free port zone near the Geneva city center, a compound of blocky gray and vanilla warehouses surrounded by train … Continue reading
The poetry of medieval maritime travel
I have been reading Arab navigation manuals and travelogues, and there is such poetry in the navigation manuals in particular. It is the liminality of the navigation texts in particular – between art and science, familiar and wholly other. I … Continue reading
Posted in Middle East, seafaring, the sea, Travels, Uncategorized
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The Gamming 