Member

Corten PÉREZ-HOUIS

Position
PhD Candidate

Institution
University Paris 1

Team
PARIS

E-mail
corten.perez-houis ( at ) parisgeo.cnrs.fr

IdHAL corten-perez-houis

ORCID 0000-0002-6970-3279

Research theme
Urban Geography, building materials, Egypt, Sudan, red brick

Transversal subjects
Stabilities and fluidity of geographical objects
Urban fabrics: processes, actors, practices

Address
Géographie-cités • Campus Condorcet
5 cours des Humanités
93322 Aubervilliers cedex (France)

Education

2020-… PhD in Geography (in process) – University Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne

“Red brick in the urban fabric of Khartoum (Sudan) and Cairo (Egypt) : for a study of urban spaces through building materials” (supervision by Eric Denis and Alice Franck)

2019-2020 Master 2 Geography/Geopolitics – University Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne and ENS Ulm

Research dissertation : Produce the material, build the city. The red brick chain value in Greater Khartoum (Sudan) (supervision by Eric Denis and Alice Franck)

2018-2019 Intensive training in classical and dialectal Arabic – Department of Contemporary Arabic Studies at the French Institute of Egypt (Cairo, Egypt)

2017-2018 Master 1 Geography/Geopolitics – University Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne and ENS Ulm

Research dissertation : Cultivate in the city : practices, dicourses, conflicts. Case studies of farming roofs and Dahab Island in Cairo (supervision by Ségolène Débarre)

2016-2017 Licence of Geography – University Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne

2014-2016 Preparatory class for the “grandes écoles” – Lycée Henri-IV

Professional experience

2023-2024 Temporary teaching and research assistant – University Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, UFR08 Geography

2020-2023 PhD student on contract – University Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, UFR08 Geography

2018 Research intern – Centre d’études et de documentation économiques, juridiques et sociales (CEDEJ) in Cairo

Scientific activities

Research projects participation

September 2022 – Summer School “Researching common territories” (commonterritory.com) on the common everyday practices in South Caucasus. One week of collective fieldwork in the Marneuli municipality, to the south of Tbilissi (Georgia).

2022-2026 — Project ANR Space And Politics: Capital Cities As Instruments Of Political Struggle And Power (Spacepol – spacepol.hypotheses.org), coordinated by Gülçin Erdi (UMR Citeres). Cairo team member, participation in the project’s seminars and publications.

2020-2022 – Programme CliMigra_Form (climigraform.org) “Development of training in participatory and citizen inquiry on climate and migrations”, funded by the MEAE (French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs) in the framework of ADESFA (Aid for the Development of French Higher Education in Africa) with the support of FEI (France Education International), University Paris 8 Vincennes-Saint Denis (France) and University of Khartoum (Sudan).

Organisation of scientific events

November 10th, 2023 – Doctoral study day – “Exploit, transport and govern resources: an analysis through and in the filières“ – Recherches-Ressources group (ressnat.hypotheses.org) – Co-organisation with Jérémy Denieulle (EA 2076 Habiter) and Ophélie Petiot (EA 2076 Habiter)

October 13th, 2023 – Study day of young scholars of the Geography Institute in Paris – “Action in research and research in action : what are the entanglements ?” – Doctoral school of Geography of Paris (EDGP), LabEx DynamiTe – Co-organisation with the PhD student representatives in EDGP

February 3rd, 2023 – Study day – “The material city” – LabEx DynamiTe (Working group “Think the urban production between Norths and Souths”), Geneva University, Urban School of Lyon – Co-organisation with Marine Frantz (UMR 8504 Géographie Cités) and Joelle Abou Issa (UMR 8504 Géographie Cités)

December 13th, 2021 – Study day – “Ethical and political issues of the enquiry in social sciences between Norths and Souths” – LabEx DynamiTe (Working group “Think the urban production between Norths and Souths”), University Paris-Cité – Co-organisation with Lucas Teiller (UMR 8504 Géographie Cités)

Teaching

2023-2024 : Temporary teaching and research assistant, University Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne

  • Cartography and statistics, L1 (24h)
  • GIS, L2 (20h)
  • Globalisation and territories, L2 (26,5h)
  • Cities and urban societies, L3 (19,5h)
  • Development, research methods and controversies, M1 (6h)

2022-2023 : PhD student on contract, Teaching fellow, University Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne

  • Cartography and statistics, L1 (45h)

2021-2022 : PhD student on contract, Teaching fellow, University Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne

  • Populations and mobilities, L2 (39h)
  • Initiation to territorial diagnosis in the field, L2 (20h)
  • Statistics, L2 (29h)
  • Cities and urban societies, L3 (19,5h)

2020-2021 : PhD student on contract, Teaching fellow, University Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne

  • Populations and mobility, L2 (19,5h)
  • Initiation to territorial diagnosis in the field, L2 (20h)

Supervision of research dissertations

Achiri, Nawal. 2022. From Cairo’s water to Munira’s waters : access, practices and representations of resource, University Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Master 1 Geography Dynamics of emerging and developing countries, co-supervision with Alice Franck (UMR8586 Prodig).

Sessions

2022-2023 :

  • “From the brick to the building, from the material to the city. Geopolitics of urban spaces through building materials supply chains”, session from the class “Natural resources and ecological transition, geopolitical analysis”, University Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL), 2nd year, December 12th, 2022
  • “From the brick to the building, from the material to the city. Geopolitics of urban spaces through building materials supply chains”, session from the class “Geopolitics of ressources and objects” , École des Ponts ParisTech, 2nd year, Octobre 21st, 2022

Publications

Journal articles

Pérez-Houis, Corten. 2022. “Cadre législatif et production de briques rouges à Khartoum (Soudan) : entre protection de l’environnement et stratégies d’aménagement des espaces urbains centraux”. Sources. Materials & Fieldwork in African Studies n° 4 : 197-240. https://www.sources-journal.org/721

Book reviews

Pérez-Houis, Corten. 2021. “Choplin A. Matière grise de l’urbain. La vie du ciment en Afrique. Métis Presse, 2020, 252 p.”, “Comptes rendus”, Annales de géographie, vol. 739-740, no. 3-4, 2021, pp. 178-183. – link

Working papers

Pérez-Houis, Corten. 2021. “Les toits du Caire. De la production alimentaire aux fantasmes du développement”, Études et documents du CEDEJ, n°26 (Octobre) – link

Research blogs articles

Pérez-Houis, Corten. 2023. “Les ressources argileuses dans la production des briques rouges en Égypte et au Soudan, entre protection de l’environnement, intérêts économiques et convoitises foncières”, Recherches-Ressources, https://ressnat.hypotheses.org/1065.

Pérez-Houis, Corten. 2022. “Chanson ‘Une brique sur une autre’ – Amal Maher – طوبة فوق طوبة” (traduction), Les Carnets du Cedej, https://egrev.hypotheses.org/2061, May 9th, 2022.

Pérez-Houis, Corten. 2022. “Du moule à la norme : vers une standardisation des matériaux de construction et de la production de la ville à Khartoum (Soudan) ?”, Métathèses, Carnet de recherches des doctorants en sciences humaines et sociales de l’Université Le Havre Normandie, https://metatheses.hypotheses.org/915, May 6th, 2022.

Pérez-Houis, Corten. 2021. “Le contexte économique difficile de la production de briques industrielles à Arab Abu Said” (traduction), Les Carnets du Cedej, https://egrev.hypotheses.org/1702, June 28th, 2021.

Pérez-Houis, Corten. 2021. “Dahab, une île agricole au centre du Caire”, Les Carnets du Cedej, https://egrev.hypotheses.org/1667, May 5th, 2021.

Pérez-Houis, Corten. 2019. “Les pigeonniers à Louxor : agriculture, loisir et tourisme”, Orients Occidents, https://orientsoccidents.hypotheses.org/1225, May 27th, 2019.

Pérez-Houis, Corten. 2019. “Vendeur de volaille, une profession en sursis” (traduction), Les Carnets du Cedej, https://egrev.hypotheses.org/1585, May 26th, 2019.

Caubet, Ariel et Pérez-Houis, Corten. 2019. “2/2 Un pigeonnier au Caire : enjeux économiques, politiques et sanitaires غاوي الحمام في القاهرة : مسائل اقتصادية، سياسية و صحية”, Orients Occidents, https://orientsoccidents.hypotheses.org/1092, January 13th, 2019.

Caubet, Ariel et Pérez-Houis, Corten. 2019. “1/2 Un pigeonnier au Caire : un passionné parmi les passionnés غاوي الحمام في القاهرة”, Orients Occidents, https://orientsoccidents.hypotheses.org/992, January 13th, 2019.

Oral communications

National and international conferences

Pérez-Houis, Corten, 2023, “Deserted factories: The recent decay of the industrial red brick production in Egyptian construction sector and cities”, RGS-IBG Conference 2023, September 1st, 2023, Session “Socio-Ecological Landscapes of Global Manufacturing”, London (United Kingdom).

Pérez-Houis, Corten, 2023, “The daily building of a capital city from its margins. The red brick supply chain and the urbanization processes in Cairo (Egypt)”, Symposium “Marginal urbanities. The hidden face of planetary urbanization”, Università della Svizzera italiana (Istituto di studi urbani e del paesaggio), July 10th, 2023, Session « Metabolisms and operational landscapes », Mendrisio (Switzerland).

Pérez-Houis, Corten, 2023, “From the Nile silt to the shale clay, from the valley to the desert : the material transformations of the red brick and its supply chain in Egypt and Sudan”, Nile’s Earth International Conference, ENSAG, University Grenoble-Alpes, July 5th, 2023, Session « Raw and building materials », Grenoble (France).

Pérez-Houis, Corten, 2023, “From red brick to cement block, or how the military state takes over Cairo’s urbanization”, 4th symposium of the International network of studies on space production (RIEPE) “Space production in 21st century. Power struggles, the power of struggles”, June 27th, 2023, Session “Powers, control of urban production and symbolic space”, Lyon (France).

Pérez-Houis, Corten, 2023, “Building the sustainable city : towards a critical approach of contemporary urbanization processes through the red brick supply chains in Cairo and Khartoum”, Urban Ecologies of the Lower Nile Valley, Cedej and AUC, June 12th, 2023, Session “Building the Valley”, Cairo (Egypt).

Pérez-Houis, Corten, 2023, “Choosing the brick, building the city. An insight into the daily making of Khartoum (Sudan)”, ECAS9 Conference: African futures, May 31st, 2023, Session “Narrating the city builder: rethinking value, capitalism and the urban”, Cologne (Germany).

Pérez-Houis, Corten, 2023, “Sustainable management of wetlands in the heart of Khartoum (Sudan). Productive activities, urbanisation and land covetousness at the confluence of the two Niles”, University of Orléans, Water in the city: amenities and vulnerabilities of urban wetlands in the North and South in the face of climate change, March 12th, 2023, Session “Public policies, sustainable cities and wetlands”, Bourges (France).

Pérez-Houis, Corten, 2022, “The Nile silt in the production of red bricks in Egypt and Sudan, between environment conservation, economic interests and land covestousness”, Session “Geopolitics of natural ressources at the time of the socio-ecological transition”, Congress of the centennial of the International Geographic Union (IGU), July 19th, 2022, Paris (France).

Pérez-Houis, Corten, 2022, “Building the material city : the techno-political marginalization of the red brick in Cairo (Egypt)”, Session “Reactivating Urban Matters”, EASST 2022 Politics of technoscientific futures, July 8th, 2022, Madrid (Spain).

Pérez-Houis, Corten, 2022, “Metabolism as a strategy for policy makers : the marginalization of the red brick in Khartoum (Sudan) and Cairo (Egypt)”, International symposium  “Metabolism studies: materiality and relationality in the Anthropocene”, Studio Metabolism (Urban School of Lyon), June 30th, 2022, Lyon (France).

Study days

Pérez-Houis, Corten, 2023, “Urban and sensitive fieldworks’ materiality: Cairo and Khartoum’s transformations through building materials supply chains”, Study day “The material city”, Labex Dynamite, February 3rd, 2023, Aubervilliers (France).

Pérez-Houis, Corten, 2021, “Building appropriations at each step : the inhabitant-architect in Khartoum (Sudan)”, Doctoral Seminar “From the built to the home”, ENSAB – GRIEF, December 3rd, 2021, Rennes (France).

Pérez-Houis, Corten, 2021, “From the mould to the norm : towards a standardisation of the city of Khartoum (Sudan)”, Doctoral Seminar “Enter the mould ?”, University of Le Havre – PRSH, December 2nd, 2021, Le Havre (France).

Pérez-Houis, Corten, 2020, “For an approach to urban spaces by the building materials”, Doctoriales Prodig (UMR 8586) 2020, November 30th, 2020, Aubervilliers (France).

Seminars and workshops

Pérez-Houis, Corten, 2023, “Follow building materials in order to analyse urban contemporary transformations. Geographical approach through red brick supply chains in Cairo (Egypt) and Khartoum (Sudan)”, IEDES, Automat seminar, December 7th, 2023, Nogent-sur-Marne (France).

Pérez-Houis, Corten, 2023, “On the margins of dubaisation, the place of red brick in the production of contemporary Cairo”, Seminar “Urban models in the face of informality: what contributions for territorial production?”, UMR 8586 Prodig, May 25th, 2023, Session “What remains at the margins or outside the models?”, Aubervilliers (France).

Pérez-Houis, Corten, 2023, “From the ‘traditional’ red brick to the industrialized cement block in Khartoum and Cairo: towards a modern and standardized city ?”, Network of Urban Studies in Egypt Seminar, March 15th, 2023, Cairo (Egypt).

Pérez-Houis, Corten, 2023, “Producing the material, building the modern city. The red brick industry in Greater Cairo (Egypt) and Greater Khartoum (Sudan)”, Team seminar, UMR 8504 Géographie Cités, February 17th, 2023, Aubervilliers (France).

Pérez-Houis, Corten, 2023, “Building the capital city : urbanisation and industrial production of red bricks in Cairo and its margins”, ANR Spacepol seminar (Space And Politics: Capital Cities As Instruments Of Political Struggle And Power), January 10th, 2023, Cairo (Egypt).

Pérez-Houis, Corten, 2022, “Class insights from the 2017 housing census : the case of the governorate of Giza”, Workshop Egyclass : Data, sources and methods (Axis 2 : The space-class nexus), May 23th, 2022, Cairo (Egypt).

Pérez-Houis, Corten, 2022, “For or against environment protection ? The mobilization of institutional actors against red brick producers in Khartoum (Sudan)”, Séminaire Espaces Mob, Labex Dynamite, April 11th, 2022, from Khartoum (Sudan).

Pérez-Houis, Corten, 2022, “The brick kilns in Khartoum as contested urban environments : accessing, analysing and crossing written sources”, Workshop, Cedej Khartoum, April 5th, 2022 (https://cedejsudan.hypotheses.org/4041), Khartoum (Sudan).

Pérez-Houis, Corten, 2021, “Be careful ! But to what? Methodological adaptations in a “difficult” security context”, Meeting of doctoral students from Géographie-Cités and Prodig, June 7th, 2021, Aubervilliers (France).

Pérez-Houis, Corten, 2021, “From Khartoum to Cairo, the long quiet river of comparison? Methodological reflections from the two red brick sectors in Egypt and Sudan ”, Doctoral workshop of Cedej in Cairo, May 27th, 2021, Cairo (Egypt).

 

Administrative responsibilities

2022-2024 Representant of the PhD students at the Doctoral School of Geography of Paris

2020-2022 Member of the organizing team of the Meetings of PhD students from Géographie Cités et Prodig

Honors, Awards and Fellowships

2021 Scholarship for the “International Mobility” program of the College of doctoral schools of the University of Paris 1

2020 Field scholarship, Cedej Khartoum

2020 Mobility grant, Maghreb Middle East Center (University of Paris 1)