GAP - Gurdwara Architecture in the diasPora. Understanding the effects on (non-)Sikhs to build an inclusive urban environment

ID Call: HORIZON-MSCA-2023-PF-01 MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships

Sapienza's role in the project: Host Institution

Supervisor: Alessandro Saggioro

Fellow: Silvia Omenetto

Department: History, Anthropology, Religion, Arts and Performing Arts 

Project start date: September 1, 2024

Project end date: August 31, 2027

Abstract:

Religions increasingly materialise inside secular buildings with aesthetic and architectural characteristics which produce impacts that are still underestimated in the process of social interaction and urban inclusion. The GAP project aims to study these effects by exploring for the first time the opinion of (non-)users regarding the materiality and aesthetics of gurdwaras built in countries concerned by the Sikh-punjabi diaspora. The emblematic case of Italy, a country that is home to 58 of the 140 gurdwaras in the EU (after Brexit), will be examined. Here, Sikh temples are pre-existing warehouses located in industrial and artisanal areas that communities are unable to fully convert. To better understand and act on such hybrid materialities, the GAP will also examine the views of (non)gurdwara users in the city-state of Singapore, an early destination of the Sikh-Punjabi diaspora (mid-19th century). Here, they are mostly located in the city centre and their architecture resembles the 'iconic' forms of the Sikh temples of Punjab. The research will consider a representative sample of four Sikh temples that will be examined through a trans-disciplinary approach (geography, urban studies and religious studies) and a methodology that integrates traditional qualitative research techniques, including participatory activities, with Digital Humanities. The GAP will provide new empirical material to help build effective European governance of religious diversity in terms of inclusion and social interaction. It will also contribute to the process of legal recognition of Sikhism in Italy. The GAP will be conducted over the course of 36 months at the University of Rome “La Sapienza” (Prof. Alessandro Saggioro). The outgoing phase will be carried out at Singapore University Management (Prof. Orlando Woods). GAP also provides for an 8-month secondment at the Bruno Kessler Foundation (Italy; Prof. Massimo Leone).