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.