Kniffen and Glassie use a pure form of diffusion where style and culture migrated over a specific geographic area during a specific period. His analysis lacked human agency and thus implied that style and culture acted upon the dwelling form. As indicated through Lopez 's work human agency answers questions that Kniffen and Glassie 's scholarship could not. The addition of human agency explains why style was diffused, how it diffused, and who enabled the diffusion. These are important answers that explore the culture 's priorities, society 's values, and indicates how knowledge is gained. Choices, change, and actions occur not in a vacuum but in the world where buildings and landscapes interact with the daily lives of people. Without contextualizing the object with human agency scholars and readers are left to assume that objects act upon culture and people within a vacuum. When agency is included in the analysis scholars can discern and uncover the culture of the daily life, the values held by the people concerning societal issues, and hierarchies of power to name a few.
Both Kniffen and …show more content…
Harris in her book Little White Houses illustrates how her grandparents purchased a house in a white neighborhood to hide their Jewishness (Harris, 2013). Harris had to examine the objects inside the home to negate the incorrect perception and interpretation the whiteness of the house reveals. The same process and attention that I take in the study of the houses is the same consideration I give to the objects within the home. Once I have a comprehensive interpretation of both the objects within the home and the home itself, I must consider if these two agree or diverge and why they do. Without this comparison, I miss the crucial goal of vernacular architecture and that is the comprehensive interpretation of people, society, and culture for a specific geographic location and
Both Kniffen and …show more content…
Harris in her book Little White Houses illustrates how her grandparents purchased a house in a white neighborhood to hide their Jewishness (Harris, 2013). Harris had to examine the objects inside the home to negate the incorrect perception and interpretation the whiteness of the house reveals. The same process and attention that I take in the study of the houses is the same consideration I give to the objects within the home. Once I have a comprehensive interpretation of both the objects within the home and the home itself, I must consider if these two agree or diverge and why they do. Without this comparison, I miss the crucial goal of vernacular architecture and that is the comprehensive interpretation of people, society, and culture for a specific geographic location and