Space and Place

The Anthropology of Space and Place is an approach that has gained considerable ground in the last two decades. Based on anthropologist  Edward T. Hall’s seminal idea of proxemics – the structure of the person’s micro-space --   as well as the work of environmental psychologists and cultural geographers, it incorporates the theory of Bourdieu, Giddens, Foucault and LeFebvre, and explores issues such as the cultural aspects of design, the production of space and the politics of space.

In the Department, there are course offerings in socio-cultural anthropology and archaeology. In Syracuse University more generally, interested students will find classes in the Maxwell School (geography and history) and the School of Architecture. Research on issues of space and place have been carried out in most ethnographic regions, including sub-Saharan Africa, South and Southeast Asia, East Asia, Central and South America, the Middle East and  Central and Eastern Europe.