Gaudi’s Candyland

Oftentimes, we associate Barcelona with its football team, especially the powerful line-up beginning with Lionel Messi, Arthur Melo, and Arturo Vidal. For my friends who have visited Barcelona, they remember the city via Barceloneta (Summer Beach) and the 1.2 km Las Ramblas (the Central Boulevard for many tourists). My other “nerdy” acquaintances think of Placido Domingo…

Jantar Mantar, Jaipur or the Problematization of Science-Culture Divide

Founded in the 18th Century by Majarajah Sawaii Jai Singh II (Jai Singh), Jaipur is the largest city in the Indian province of Rajasthan. As a planned-city (often, it is cited as the country’s example of a well-planned city), Jaipur is called the Pink City in reference to its distinctly colored buildings: painted almost pinkish…

Galerius’ Resting Place in Gamzigrad

During the closing ceremony of the 2017 International Federation for Theatre Research (IFTR) Annual Conference in São Paulo, Brazil, it was announced that the 2018 conference and world congress would happen in Belgrade, Serbia through the Faculty of Dramatic Arts, University of Arts Belgrade. I remember the awkwardness I felt about the announcement because the…

Looking for Heritage

As an academic, I find the concept of heritage problematic. Those who are conceived as the authority of heritage (normally, the educated, the State) constantly use history of the glorious past as the primary defining framework for etching something as heritage. This identification equates heritage as something significantly valuable similar to how precious stones such as…