I have recently completed my dissertation, which is a comparative study of the architecture and urban planning of East and West Berlin during the time of the Berlin Wall. Divided Berlin provides an ideal case study for an investigation into the relationship between political ideology and a city's built environment and furthermore, the effect of this relationship on the construction of national identity. Both East and West Germany sought to articulate ideologies and values in built form as part of an effort to establish legitimacy vis-à-vis the "other" Germany. My dissertation will consider the processes by which such ideas were communicated through architecture, as well as the degree to which the resulting buildings were accepted and acknowledged as symbols of a shared, national culture. By looking at specific projects, such as the Berlin State Library (Staatsbibliothek, Hans Scharoun, 1967-78) in West Berlin and the Palace of the Republic (Palast der Republik, Heinz Graffunder, 1973-76) in East Berlin, this study will consider how and to what extent architecture helped to forge a sense of national identity in either country.

Throughout the 2006-07 year I have been in Berlin conducting archival research for the completion of this project, with the support of a U.S. Student Fulbright Grant. I plan on graduating in Spring 2008.

If you are interested in a more complete description of the dissertation, please email me for a copy of the project description: emily[at]emilypugh.com