- Copyright 2009-2011 by Paul Goss All Rights Reserved
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Category Archives: Social Norms
Teaching Los Angeles
Los Angeles is so often criticized in this century as a failed city, an anti-city lacking the traditional hierarchies and radial density gradient that we have come to take for granted as key characteristics of functioning large cities. That which … Continue reading
Language, Architecture and Anthropology
The following paragraphs will seek to shed some light on the anthropological drivers of architects using jargon and superfluous language and the role it plays in architecture. Continue reading
Storytelling and Surveillance
I just read an interesting blog post from Richard Smith about the possibility of self-fulfilling prophecies driving the increase in urban surveillance networks. He wrote that while attending a conference on surveillance cameras, a presentation was given examining the public … Continue reading
Posted in Anthropology, Social Norms, Storytelling, Surveillance
Tagged anthropology studies, clive thompson, hurrican katrina, kingdom of fear, moscow police, richard smith, robert merton, self fulfilling prophecy, social influence, Social Norms, surveillance cameras, surveillance networks
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Behavior-based Architecture and Design
Josh Owen has designed and developed a portable Stoop Bench for use in varied urban environments. He writes, “Philadelphia is a city of stoop dwellers. Stoops entered into the vernacular of American architecture during the colonial times…The Philadelphia stoop functions … Continue reading
Architecture, Anthropology, Skyscrapers and Economics
Nick Gogerty has put together an interesting and brief post on the coinciding events of economic bubbles and skyscrapers. The latest example of this is of course the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, which began five years ago in a boom. … Continue reading
Posted in Anthropology, Architecture, Built Environment, Social Norms, Storytelling
Tagged Add new tag, Architecture, Arts, Building, Dubai, Skyscraper
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Architectural Folklore
After completing the previous post of Storytelling, Cultural Transmission and Architecture I began to wonder if there are any architectural folklore or stories, and if there are, how they affect the built environment and people’s preferences toward architecture and cities. … Continue reading
Posted in Anthropology, Architecture, Social Norms, Storytelling
Tagged Add new tag, Architecture, Folklore, History, Vernacular architecture
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Storytelling, Cultural Transmission and Architecture
Storytelling has a great value among societies as a method of cultural transmission and social learning. I have recently reread an anthropology article entitled Cross-Cultural Comparison of Learning in Human Hunting. The goal of the article was to examine the … Continue reading
Posted in Anthropology, Social Norms, Storytelling
Tagged Add new tag, Fiction, Folklore, Great Gatsby, Literature
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Architecture and Anthropology in The House of Mirth
This fall I read The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton on the recommendation of a former professor. It is a tale of a young woman in New York’s high society in the early 1900s and follows her social rise … Continue reading
Posted in Anthropology, Architecture, Literature, Social Norms
Tagged Add new tag, Anthropology, Edith Wharton, House of Mirth, New York City, Social class
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Social Intelligence and Storytelling
I recently finished reading 1,001 Arabian Nights, a book I was interested to read after recalling some of my anthropology lectures. In 1,001 Arabian Nights, an Arabian king named Sharyar discovers his wife has been unfaithful to him. After years … Continue reading
The Viral Influence of Social Networks
This article, The Buddy System: How Medical Data Revealed Secret to Health and Happiness, was published in Wired magazine in September 2009. Two researchers began to pour over decades of health information found about the population of Framingham, MA. The … Continue reading
Posted in Anthropology, Architecture, Built Environment, Social Norms
Tagged Add new tag, Built Environment, Michel Foucault, Norm, Social group
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