Precarious Chronotopes in Beirut: a comparative spatio-temporal analysis of Rafic Hariri’s grave and nightclub B018

Abstract

This article argues that the intersection of time and space in large parts of the Levant is, above all, precarious. With a close analysis of two meaningful places in Beirutthe shrine of Rafic Hariri and the nightclub B018the article seeks to tease out how such a precarious chronotope is given form, meaning and value through narratives, practices and spatial design. Moreover, the article builds upon Walid Sadek's conceptualisation of shared mourning as a possibility for a new sociality under Lebanon's precarious conditions. It argues that despite their engagement with loss, the two sites under scrutiny here do not allow for such an ethical position. The findings of the analysis are relevant for the Levant more broadly as the flows of refugees in recent years have produced new and particularly precarious geographies inscribed with a profound sense of loss and grief.