Essay on Space ⋆ Sociology Essay Examples ⋆ EssayEmpire

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Space has many faces: the situated space defined for social interactions, the bubble of individual space, the private spaces we maintain for our personal lives, the public spaces of wider social activity, and space as a scarce distributed resource in the organization of human social life. Although some theorists use the terms space and place interchangeably, they are in fact not the same concept.

Hall’s (1966) groundbreaking book The Hidden Dimension treats space as a sociological category of experience. For Hall, as well as LeFebve (1991), space is ordered by human custom and definition. The reverse is also observed: the design of a space can affect the sort of activities and meanings that occur within it.

Spaces can be flexible to different definitions of the situation and accompanying interactions. A small space beneath a kitchen table may be room for feet and legs, a cave or a castle to a young person, or the land of bountiful opportunity to the family dog.

Individuals carry an invisible bubble of space around them in order to feel comfortable interacting with others. The size of this cushion of space varies from one individual to another and across cultures. For example, a person in one of the Arabic cultures needs to get very close, about one foot away, in order to communicate effectively. In other cultures, about four feet is the acceptable communication distance. Most Americans need about 30 inches (Sommer 1983). The implication for diplomatic missions and everyday conversation is that others may be perceived as either too pushy or too cold and distant for reasons that have nothing to do with the content of their communications, and much to do with the amount of intervening space.

Oldenburg (1999) demonstrates the importance of everyday spaces to the construction of social relationships and meanings. His examination of the third spaces” that people spend time in, after home and work, highlights the importance of semi-private and public spaces in providing meaning and continuity to human life. Historians and political scientists have examined the roles of taverns and coffeehouses as community facilitators and sites for political discourse and organization. Milligan (1998) looks at what happens to the definition of a place when it is moved into a new space. Community bonds forged in the crucible of one intense social space lose their integrity when those facilities and their limitations are no longer extant. Du Bois (2001) provides examples of special designs that encourage social interaction in nursing homes, bars, and other public spaces.

Bibliography:

Du Bois, W. (2001) Design and human behavior: the sociology of architecture. In: Du Bois, W. & Wright, R. D. (eds.), Applying Sociology: Making a Better World. Allyn & Bacon, Boston, MA, pp. 30-45.
LeFebve, H. (1991) The Production of Space, trans. D. Nicholson-Smith. Blackwell Publishing, Oxford.
Milligan, M. (1998) Interactional past and potential: the social construction of place attachment, Symbolic Interaction 21 (1): 1-34.
Oldenburg, R. (1999) The Great Good Place: Cafes, Coffee Shops, Bookstores, Bars, Hair Salons, and Other Hangouts at the Heart of a Community, 3rd edn. Marlowe, Emeryville, CA.
Sommer, R. (1983) Social Design: Creating Buildings with People in Mind. Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ.