A SPACE FOR RESISTANCE; NEW GOURNA IN-BETWEEN NATIONAL AND REFORM PROJECTS

New Gourna is a controversial project from tbe Egyptian liberal era that is still vibrant with resistant qualities valid for the current neo liberal era. It embodies a unique moment; in-between tradition and modernity, in-between national and reform projects, or in-between success and failure. This research argues for the validity of an In-Between resistance that goes beyond opposition to offer a wide range of possibilities. Such resistance would work between tradition and modernity to explore the hidden potentialities. From this view point, New Gourna is revisited; the aim is to examine its in-between stance and to extract its inherited qualities that would inspire the Egyptian contemporary practice. The paper runs two lines of inquiry to explore New Gourna in the context of two main projects that emerged during this time; the national identity project and the countryside refonn project. The resistant qualities of New Gourna are deduced from within the two projects and its acceptance is analyzed. Finally the paper points to the consistency of concepts and divergence of practice New Gourna manifests.