On December 7, at 7 pm Tbilisi time, the biweekly research colloquium of the Institute for Social and Cultural Research will host the first English-language event of this semester. Tyson Sadleir from Columbia University will present his research project “Geography, Infrastructure, and the Bridges of the Darial Gorge, 1769-1917.”
Abstract:
Infrastructures are built networks that facilitate the flow of goods, people, or ideas and allow for their exchange over space. As physical forms they shape the nature of a network, the speed and direction of its movement, its temporalities, and its vulnerability to breakdown (Larkin 2013). In this talk, I examine this last aspect, the breakdown of networks, and its relationship to technological advancement. Specifically, I will explore Russian construction of bridges across the Terek River in the Darial Gorge from 1769 to 1917, their regular destruction by the river’s annual flooding, and the technological advancement that such destruction induced.
Bio:
Tyson Sadleir is a PhD candidate in history at Columbia University. He is writing his dissertation on the Georgian Military Highway under Russian rule. He is interested in the relationship between the natural environment and infrastructure in the process of empire building.
The event will take place in English via Zoom. Registration is required.
To register please follow this link.
