Between nomadism and settlement the architectural transformation of the arabian desert, 1940s-1970s Sarah Saad Alajmi

Format:

Book

Thesis/Dissertation

Author/Creator:

Alajmi, Sarah Saad, author.

Contributor:

University of Pennsylvania. Architecture., degree granting institution.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Middle Eastern studies.

Literature.

Modern history.

0729.

0401.

0555.

0582.

Local Subjects:

Middle Eastern studies.

Literature.

Modern history.

0729.

0401.

0555.

0582.

Genre:

Academic theses

Physical Description:

1 online resource (319 pages)

Contained In:

Dissertations Abstracts International 87-12A

Place of Publication:

Ann Arbor : ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, 2026

Language Note:

English

Summary:

The Arabian desert, known as Al-Badiyah, underwent a tremendous transformation in the twentieth century. The development of modern states and the oil industry created the modern desert landscape. This transformation was funded by local governments, such as the governments of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. The tribespeople of the Arabian desert, the Badu, were known for their habitual movements across territories, which hindered the project of modernization. Thus, a project of sedentarization took place to ensure the settlement of tribes near urban centers. Governments and international entities had to incentivize nomadic tribes to abandon nomadism by providing jobs in agriculture and oil companies.This dissertation examines the history of Al-Badiyah and its ecological and architectural components before its transformation. The Badu's architecture manifested in their tents and camps, and Badu women were skilled weavers and architects of their domestic spaces. After modernization and settlement, the Badu's relationship to the built environment was impacted, and Al-Badiyah was no longer a home. The sedentarization of the Badu involved agricultural and architectural projects. In the 1960s, the King Faisal Settlement Project at Haradh, Saudi Arabia, was established to sedentarize nomadic tribes. The development of oil companies accelerated the settlement of the Badu. The Kuwait Oil Company was established in 1934, and its development was coupled with the rise of shantytowns in the desert. The creation of unplanned and informal settlements prompted the Kuwaiti government to launch the Bedouin Settlement project (Popular Housing) in 1969 to relocate the inhabitants of these shanties into modern structures. The Arabian American Oil Company (Aramco) launched the Home Ownership Program in 1951 to provide home loans to its employees, including Badu employees, facilitating their settlement with their families in modern houses.The dissertation studies the history of the Badu from the Badu themselves, tracing poetry and conducting interviews with those who have lived in the Arabian desert before and during its transformation from the 1940s to the 1970s. The Badu narrative is amplified and emphasized in this history of the Arabian desert

Notes:

Source: Dissertations Abstracts International, Volume: 87-12, Section: A.

Advisors: Lara, Fernando Luiz Committee members: Dümpelmann, Sonja; Barber, Daniel A.

Ph.D. University of Pennsylvania 2026

Vendor supplied data

Local Notes:

School code: 0175

ISBN:

9798247980476

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license