The Cultural Perception of Space: Expanding the Legacy of Edward T. Hall

Abstract

Abstract In 1963, Edward T. Hall coined the term proxemics to describe what he then termed “the interrelated observations and theories of humans’ use of space as a specialized elaboration of culture” (Hall, 1966). Expanding on this theme in his book The Hidden Dimension, Hall inspired a generation of scholars to look more closely at the myriad ways in which people perceived and interacted with each other and with the physical environments, natural and built, in which they found themselves.Hall’s focus, however, was mainly on interpersonal space, looking for instance at differences in social distance compared across cultures, and on how these differences were reflected in such phenomena as conversations, queueing, or seating arrangements. As people from different cultural backgrounds come more frequently into contact with each other, other aspects of proxemics have become more salient. It is too often assumed that any two or more people in a certain setting, irrespective of cultural background, will tend to perceive their surroundings in similar ways and, to a large extent, share similar cognitive and emotional experiences. Consequently, there is a focus on the content of the interaction, with a corresponding neglect of the physical and cultural context. In this article the author expands Hall’s pioneering insights by suggesting a model that considers a wider range of intercultural perceptions and responses in the aspects of cosmology, geography, community, environment, residence and personal space.