PRESENT HUMANITIES: CRITICAL

Present humanities are not conscious of the importance of space. -> Anthropological space theorem. If Bollnow's anthropology of space is taken as a theoretical basis, this rises many critical questions against the conventional structure, methods and results of the humanities.

BOLLNOW'S MAIN ARGUMENTS

THE BASIC RESULTS OF ARCHITECTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY


ARCHAEOLOGY/ PREHISTORY

-> Amerlinck 1996, Egenter 1995, Egenter 1996.

ARCHITECTURE, ART, SYMBOLS, TERRITORIAL SIGNS

Similar to conventional archaeology and prehistory, habitat research attributes great importance to material culture, but it does not search merely for casual durable remains, but chooses a highly valued type of object culture as the main carrier of prehistorical cultural development (-> settlement core complex) which is reconstructed ethno-(pre-)historically. Though not made with durable materials, it forms the ritually renewed nucleus of an evidently very ancient territorial institution This institution, which we find universally related to settlements used primarily fibroconstructive signs and symbols for the spatial, social and political organisation of the habitat. The central object of this research is thus a phenomenon universally known, paradoxically described by the history (life-tree etc), folklore (maypoles etc) and ethnology (fetish, idol etc.) of religion, but not really researched objectively, because - in the view of religion - its materiality contradicted with the scholastic theological concept of an absolutely spiritual dimension. It was therefore considered primitive and was devalued in spite of its high values in the local worldview (ontology). Objectively: fetish, idol, historically life-tree, telae etc: semantic architecture. relations to art, aesthetics, semiotics, symbol research,

HISTORY

European history is prejudiced by three characteristics: In particular Bollnow's anthropological concept of space critically questions important domains of historical interpretation.

HISTORY OF NON-EUROPEAN CULTURES


ETHNOLOGY / FOLKLORE STUDIES


GLOSSARY OF CRITICAL TERMS

This glossary will be continuously completed, further critical terms being added from all disciplines of the humanities. Brackets (..) indicate that the terms are related to this critical survey. Terms without brackets are related to the interpretation of -> Habitat Theory of Culture.

UNDER CONSTRUCTION


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