Reification and Representation

<p>The relationship between politics and the public relations industry is controversial and, at times, polemic. However, one component of this relationship that has yet to be investigated is the role of architecture. Arguing for a fundamental reconfiguration of our understanding of ‘political architecture’, this book suggests it is not only a question of constructed buildings, but equally a case of mediated imagery. </p><p>Considered through examples of architecture as a backdrop for photo shoots by politicians in the democracies of the United States and the United Kingdom, this book suggests these images give us both a better understanding of recent developments in the Western political economy and the architectural and urban developments of the late 20th and early 21st Centuries.</p><p>Using case studies of Margaret Thatcher, Tony Blair, David Cameron, Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Donald Trump, this book represents a ground-breaking triangular analysis that will be essential reading for scholars in architecture, politics, media and communication studies. </p> <p>Introduction<b> Section 1: The United States </b>1. <i>From Lincoln to Obama –The Recent History of Architecture as Political Imagery in the United States. </i>Barack Obama 2008. 2. <i>Visualizing sub-prime: the premeditation and financial collapse of the housing market. </i>George W. Bush 2004. 3. <i>Trump Tower: The Neoliberal Overflow of Political Architecture. </i>Donald Trump 2016 <strong>Section 2: The United Kingdom </strong>4. <i>Parliament, Sovereignty and British Political Identity. </i>David Cameron. 2010 <b>5.</b> <i>Right to Buy - The Architectural Imagery of Home. </i>Margaret Thatcher. 1979 <b>6.</b> <i>New Labour and the Age of Socio-Urban Economics </i>Tony Blair. 1997 Conclusion Bibliography</p>