The Influence of Globalization on Distracting Traditional Aesthetic Values in Old Town of Erbil

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A B S T R A C T Aesthetics as a discipline was originally part of philosophy and cosmology, primarily it was used to create a holistic picture of the world. Throughout history, subject and tasks of aesthetics as a discipline have been changing in different historical, cultural, religious and artistic discourses, nature and the beauty of objects intentionally produced by man, but doubts in division of aesthetic experiences in comparison to these variants of beauty. One of the cities where started to rebuild in North Iraq after the Saddam Hussein s regime was Erbil. This fact has evidently started to come out as a problem of urban conservation that results in the loss of architectural and social values of the historical settings. New building in a historical settlement is an urban conservation problem that forms out a methodology of analyzing and evaluating the existing built fabric with a typological study, making an interpretation of it commenting on the legal regulations and introducing new principles that are based on the synthesis of the past and today for providing historical continuity and preserving urban identity despite the continuous change. The study revealed that by using local and traditional elements in modern architecture there is a possibility to protect historical building.

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The Influence of Globalization on Distracting Traditional Aesthetic Values in Old Town of Erbil MA.ZhinoHariry Department of Architecture, Faculty of Architecture, Design and Fine Arts, Girne American University, KKTC, North Cyprus A B S T R A C T Aesthetics as a discipline was originally part of philosophy and cosmology, primarily it was used to create a holistic picture of the world. Throughout history, subject and tasks of aesthetics as a discipline have been changing in different historical, cultural, religious and artistic discourses, nature and the beauty of objects intentionally produced by man, but doubts in division of aesthetic experiences in comparison to these variants of beauty. One of the cities where started to rebuild in North Iraq after the Saddam Hussein s regime was Erbil. This fact has evidently started to come out as a problem of urban conservation that results in the loss of architectural and social values of the historical settings. New building in a historical settlement is an urban conservation problem that forms out a methodology of analyzing and evaluating the existing built fabric with a typological study, making an interpretation of it commenting on the legal regulations and introducing new principles that are based on the synthesis of the past and today for providing historical continuity and preserving urban identity despite the continuous change. The study revealed that by using local and traditional elements in modern architecture there is a possibility to protect historical building. CONTEMPORARY URBAN AFFAIRS (2017) 1(1), 56-66. https://doi.org/10.25034/1761.1(1)56-66 www.ijcua.com Copyright © 2017 Contemporary Urban Affairs. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction In the non- western context, there always has been a dilemma between "who we are" and "who we should be". One could say "between tradition and modernity". (Puja Nanda, 1995). Various ideas can be given about the concept of globalization and the term globalization has been restricted to economic activities but however it is a multi-faceted concept. Not only is globalization related to economic activities but also extends to incorporate other aspects such as political, socio-cultural, technology, media, culture and as well as biological aspects such climate change. This therefore has poses both opportunities and adverse effect to aesthetic values. Though the nature and magnitude of effects of globalization on aesthetic values vary whether negative or positive, they hinge on the prevalence or extent to which a nation has been exposed to globalization. Insights provided by Pohl (n.d) revealed that globalization is positively associated with modernization which has a strong potential to change cultural values. The change in cultural values is brought about by changes in taste and preferences as they shift towards international products. Thus aesthetics values are likely to change in favor of international products, views and life styles. Contrasting ideas were however given by Villaincourt (2007) showed that deeply rooted cultures such as the Chinese, Arabic and Islamic and their associated aesthetic values are not easily affected by globalization. This shows that there is no consensus about the impact of globalization on aesthetic values. The idea is how to explain narratives of each society through their architecture increase aesthetical value of it. This study therefore attempts to examine the influence of globalization on distracting traditional aesthetic values in relation to Erbil. The theme of this research deals with the distinguishing and analyze of traditional and modern characteristics in some cultures in the whole globe then focused on the old town of Erbil. The aesthetic concept and practices of any cultures yesterday is a kind of critical attitude toward creating various method of designing in future. This analysis was to evaluate negative impacts on the modern architecture in relation to the local culture, religion and environment. The case study was selected areas influenced by the development of modern buildings in Erbil city, as one of the ancient cities in Middle East. The research was to know how the modernity has influence on aesthetic of traditional buildings and damage their identity in there. The conceptual framework of this study is based on the diagram shown in figure 1. It can be noted that the effects of globalization on aesthetic values depends on whether globalization is or not compatible with tradition. Foremost, it can be noted that globalizations is as a result of events or activities which can either be spectacular or non-spectacular. Thus the adoption, implementation or importation of these spectacular activities or events results in globalization. The effects of globalization are categorized on the basis that they are compatible or not compatible with tradition. However, irrespective of the level of compatibility, there is always social understanding and interpretation that is derived from globalization. It is the resultant outcome of social understanding and interpretation of globalization that poses effects on aesthetic values. Society then perception of the town is therefore influenced by the effects of globalization on aesthetic values. Such effects can either bring positive or negative distractions on people’s perceptions. The difference between the left side and the right side of the diagram rests on the impact of globalization, that is, whether it is compatible or not compatible with tradition. The other main problem which globalization is that it can negatively distract the aesthetic value of traditional spaces when it is not compatible with traditions in the eye of spectacular. Then as the solution it can conserve aesthetic value of traditional spaces by appropriate globalization in the same time with the traditions. Figure 1. Conceptual Framework of Globalization Effects on Traditional Aesthetic (Developed by Author). The main objective of the study is to examine the influence of globalization on distracting traditional aesthetic values in relation to Erbil. Other objectives of the study are; 1. To analyze the nature and extent to which globalization is influencing aesthetic values in Erbil.

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