Abstract
In 1992, to address the devastation that the Lebanese Civil War (1975–1992) inflicted on Beirut, the Lebanese state appointed Solidere, a private real estate firm, to reconstruct the Beirut Central District (BCD), granting it nearly absolute control over the project. Although Solidere’s main goal was to redevelop infrastructure, it had to contend with historic architecture and archaeological ruins spanning millennia of occupation. Archaeologists and heritage experts widely consider Solidere’s cultural heritage management a failure, citing its rampant destruction of archaeological and historic material, and its inability to reorient cultural identities within Lebanon productively. Specifically, Solidere failed to address religious tensions or construct a strong sense of national unity to help Lebanon move past the war. I frame my discussion of Solidere as an example of the dangers of privatized heritage management and how cultural arbiters can manipulate processes of identity-formation to support their interests.
This thesis examines Solidere’s branding of Beirut as the “Ancient City of the Future” and how it sold itself as a champion of the city’s cultural heritage while doing little to support it. I explore the architecture and archaeological past of the souks and Martyr’s Square and contrast their historical and pre-war functions and appearances with their current iterations. I find that Solidere manipulated Beirut’s cultural heritage to advance a Lebanese identity based on economic prowess, which it used to promote economic engagement with the BCD and thus promote its profits at the detriment of national unity. Solidere’s treatment of archaeological remains and pre-war heritage in the souks and Martyr’s Square was a direct result of its economic priorities, and ultimately had dangerous consequences for the Lebanese people in their vulnerable post-war state.
Advisor
Morrow, Kara
Second Advisor
Navarro-Farr, Olivia
Department
Archaeology; Art and Art History
Recommended Citation
Clingroth, Fritz, "Cosmopolitanism, Commercialism, or Confessionalism? Beirut’s Privatized Heritage Management and its Effects on the Local Identity" (2024). Senior Independent Study Theses. Paper 10883.
https://openworks.wooster.edu/independentstudy/10883
Disciplines
Cultural Resource Management and Policy Analysis | Historic Preservation and Conservation | Other History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology
Keywords
Beirut, Cultural Heritage, Heritage preservation, cultural identity
Publication Date
2024
Degree Granted
Bachelor of Arts
Document Type
Senior Independent Study Thesis
© Copyright 2024 Fritz Clingroth