Architectonic Modes of Collective Existence. Comparative Sociology of Architecture

• Applicant: Professorin Dr. Heike Delitz
• Subject Area: Sociological Theory
• Term: since 2018
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 400112452

The project explores the social relevance of architecture within the frame of a comparative research methodology. It lays the foundation towards future interdisciplinary projects aiming to inquire into current and historical transformations of societies through architecture. For instance, in order to grasp the current change of the Chinese way of living through European architects; or in order to make sense of the social changes caused by the avant-gardes in European societies today - one first has to understand the role of architecture for different societies and modes of collective existence. This also means exploring which social differences are established by a vertical urban architecture compared to the mobile and horizontal architecture of nomadic societies.As a sociology of architecture, this research project positions itself in the field of cultural sociology, as it is interested in the relations of cultural phenomena to the social. Furthermore, it aims to contribute to social theory. Given the omnipresence of architecture within all societies, many theoretical questions have to be reconsidered: What is a 'society'? In which way is 'the social' constituted? And in which society do we life? In tackling these questions, the (already widely recognized) theoretical work by the applicant on the constitutive role of architecture as a medium of the social is empirically enriched in a crucial way. In doing so, the project aims to develop an interdisciplinary sociology of architecture which is both theoretically and empirically interested in a non-Eurocentric and comparative perspective. There are both normative and empirical reasons for this undertaking: In face of the mostly nonverbal logic of architecture, its relation to bodies and the often non-existing distance to one's own architectural culture, the project analyzes a series of ideal-typical and divergent cases. These cases are studied based on a secondary analysis of already existing ethnographical work. The following cases are explored and compared: 1) contemporary urban and highly infrastructured collectives and societies (Uruk, Catal Höyük, and Germany); 2) social collectives whose architecture fosters a nomadic existence (societies of tents: Tuareg, Mongols); 3) collectives who scatter their buildings to disperse themselves (Residential Atomism: Achuar); and 4) societies who realize their architecture below ground (Sociétés à maisons creusées: Yaodong, Zentralchina). This project enriches and expands the sociology of architecture by mobilizing an interdisciplinary and cross-cultural perspective. It is both interested in the differences or particularities of social collectives, not limiting itself to the western and modern modes of architecture, as well as in the common social logics of architecture. In doing so, it aims to sensitize the discipline of architecture as well as the public for the social force of architecture.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants