Journey to the Future

Temporal imaginaries in contemporary Dubai

Bibliographic Data

ID2248259
AuthorsRoss Cheung (corresponding author), I Mcgonigle (0000-0003-0837-080X)
Year2024
Volume40
Issue6
Pages19-22
Publication date2024-12-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAnthropology Today (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0268-540X • E-ISSN: 1467-8322
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/1467-8322.12928
OpenAlexW4404971811
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited15

This article introduces 'temporalized sociotechnical imaginaries' to analyse how the United Arab Emirates (UAE) deploys technology-focused visions across timeframes to construct national identity. We examine how Dubai's Museum of the Future and the UAE Vision Pavilion at Expo 2020 project futuristic technological narratives linked to the nation's centennial in 2071. Unlike traditional museums presenting history, these exhibitions offer carefully crafted visions of the future, serving as deliberate performances of state-led nation-building. These imaginaries reinforce national cohesion and legitimize current governance by integrating technological progress with national identity across past, present and future. This study contributes to our understanding of contemporary nationalism in rapidly developing states and the role of temporal imaginations of technology in nation-building

Aesthetics · Art · Art history · Centennial · Exhibition · Management · Media studies · Narrative · National identity · Nationalism · Pavilion · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Sociotechnical system · Vision · Anthropology · Cultural Heritage Management and Preservation · History · Law · Middle East and Rwanda Conflicts · Museums and Cultural Heritage

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Open DOIOpen Access