Host Mikey Muhanna talks to Rana AlMutawa, Assistant Professor of Social Research and Public Policy at NYU Abu Dhabi and author of "Everyday Life in the Spectacular City, Making Home in Dubai." They delve into the misunderstood complexities of Dubai's social dynamics, exploring urban ethnography, the mislabeling of spaces as "fake" or "authentic" and the city's multifaceted social hierarchies. AlMutawa provides insights into the real and significant social lives created within Dubai's often-criticized spaces, such as shopping malls,...
Host Mikey Muhanna talks to Rana AlMutawa, Assistant Professor of Social Research and Public Policy at NYU Abu Dhabi and author of "Everyday Life in the Spectacular City, Making Home in Dubai." They delve into the misunderstood complexities of Dubai's social dynamics, exploring urban ethnography, the mislabeling of spaces as "fake" or "authentic" and the city's multifaceted social hierarchies. AlMutawa provides insights into the real and significant social lives created within Dubai's often-criticized spaces, such as shopping malls, and challenges Western-centric viewpoints on the city's development and social structure.
00:00 Introduction
05:29 Understanding Urban Ethnography
08:59 Middle-Class Dynamics in Dubai
14:16 Neoliberalism and Urban Spaces
17:50 Exclusions in Public Spaces
25:07 Authenticity and Exoticization
27:02 Research Methodology in Urban Ethnography
29:31 Social Hierarchies in Dubai
31:31 Complexities of Privilege in Dubai
32:33 Diverse Urban Spaces and Social Interactions
37:03 Malls as Social Newspapers
40:23 Personalities of Different Malls
45:50 Inclusivity and Accessibility in Public Spaces
49:32 Comparing Cities in the UAE
57:16 Double Standards in Global Cities
01:01:35 Further Reading
Rana AlMutawa is an Assistant Professor of Social Research and Public Policy at New York University Abu Dhabi. She focuses on urban ethnography, social hierarchies (race, class, gender, citizenship, Orientalism, and social distinction), and belonging. She completed her doctoral training at the University of Oxford in 2021 and published her first book "Everyday Life in the Spectacular City: Making Home in Dubai" in 2024 with the University of California Press.
Connect with Rana AlMutawa 👉
https://instagram.com/Rana_almutawa
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
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