Curriculum

A Sense of Place/Displacement, Replacement, Non-placement

RAW Académie Session 11 builds on the compelling reflections initiated during Condition Report 5: A Sense of Place/Displacement, Replacement, Non-placement, an international symposium developed in collaboration with Prof. Felwine Sarr. The symposium explored how places embody histories, connections, and energies that are often invisible but deeply felt. It asked how such presences can be nurtured, sustained, and transformed in a world increasingly marked by displacement and environmental, social, and political upheaval.

This session of the Academie provides an important opportunity to further develop these questions through a series of seminars and to critically engage with the complex relationship between people and the places they inhabit, exploring how identity, memory, and creativity intersect with the material and immaterial dimensions of place. 

Central to this endeavor is the need to rethink the fundamental rights of belonging and access in a world marked by displacement and exclusion. Hospitality, often understood as a gesture of inclusion, here transcends its conventional meanings to become an ethical and philosophical imperative - a lens through which we interrogate borders, identity, and the politics of presence. 

These reflections naturally extend to the urban context, where cities like Dakar serve as both archives of memory and laboratories of transformation. Urban environments shape and are shaped by the people who inhabit them. As sites of cultural transmission and community resilience, cities offer fertile ground for examining how collective memory and adaptive strategies can coexist with the demands of modernisation and sustainability. 

The session also addresses the transformative potential of place-based education. By embracing learning practices grounded in local ecosystems, histories, and communities, it seeks to dismantle hierarchical knowledge systems. This approach strengthens Indigenous practices and relational ways of knowing, emphasising the interconnectedness of people and their environments. 

At a time when the global climate crisis looms large, the question of how we live in shared environments takes on new urgency. This seminar examines how human and non-human life can coexist in balance, exploring community-led ecological practices that prioritise sustainability and justice. Rather than focusing on the overwhelming consequences of environmental degradation, the focus will be on examples of care and stewardship that respect biodiversity and resist extractivist logics.

Finally, it invites reflection on the invisible threads that weave the essence of place. These intangible connections - embodied in collective memory, oral traditions, and spiritual practices - anchor communities in their histories while providing tools for resilience.. 

The curriculum of the session will be shaped weekly by an exceptional group of visiting faculty whose research and practice span a range of disciplines and offer rich insights into how these issues intersect with history, culture, and social practice. It will include anthropologist and historian Abdourahmane Seck; architect and anthropologist Sénamé Koffi Agbodjinou; historian and exhibition maker Samia Henni; interdisciplinary historian, activist and social and political organiser Dr Sónia Vaz Borges (To be confirmed); researcher, designer and architectural educator Mae-ling Lokko; and finally Alibeta, musician, curator & founder of Kenu - Lab'Oratoire des Imaginaires.

Follow via the hashtag #RAWAcademie11.