Folk Housing in Middle Virginia: A Structural Analysis of Historic Artifacts

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic Application of Linguistic Theory
Review: Glassie takes the principles of Noam Chomsky's transformational- generative grammar and applies them to architecture. His book demonstrates the value of applying and adapting ideas from linguistics into new fields of study. There are clear grammatical parallels between ways of creating and understanding linguistic utterances and ways of creating buildings. What Glassie accomplishes is a demonstration of how to look at these patterns for clues to understanding how and why the builders designed their houses in particular ways. The work is fascinating, and the method and theories have been applied to a range of artistic expressions from blues music to pie safes. This book is one of the most important contributions to the study of folklore and archaeology.