Johan Lagae

Johan Lagae is Full Professor at Ghent University, where he teaches 20th Century Architectural History with a focus on the non-European context. In 2007, he was a chercheur invité at the Institut National d’Histoire de l’Art in Paris and recently was a fellow at the Paris Institut des Etudes Avancées. He holds a PhD on colonial architecture in the former Belgian Congo and has published widely on the topic, as well as on 20th century architectural and urban history in Central-Africa, and on the notion of colonial built heritage. He co-authored two books on the built landscapes of the city of Kinshasa and (co-)curated several Congo-related exhibitions, such as Le mémoire du Congo. Le temps colonial (2005), Congo belge en images (2010), and more recently A chacun sa maison. Housing in the Belgian Congo 1945-1960 (2018). From 2010 till 2014 he co-chaired a European research community devoted to the theme “European Architecture beyond Europe” (COST-action IS0904), and he currently is co-editor of ABE-Journal, a peer reviewed, open access scholarly magazine devoted to 19th and 20th century architecture beyond Europe.

Ringvorlesung vom 07.12.2021:
“SORRY CONGO !?” ON THE POSITIONALITY OF ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY IN DEALING WITH CONGO’S COLONIAL PAST