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4.03 · Ra ng details · 1,033 ra ngs · 84 reviews READERS ALSO ENJOYED

An examination of various cultural concepts of space and how

differences among them affect modern society. Introducing the
science of "proxemics," Hall demonstrates how man's use of
space can affect personal business relations, cross-cultural
exchanges, architecture, city planning, and urban renewal.

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GENRES
Paperback, 240 pages
Published September 1st 1990 by Anchor (first published January 1st 1966)
Architecture 52 users
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Nonfic on 42 users

FRIEND REVIEWS Anthropology 38 users

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ABOUT EDWARD T. HALL

Recent Ques ons Edward T. Hall

103 followers
I am reading one of the older editions, and would like to know if more recent editions
have any updates on recent studies in this area. If not, are there any more recent books Follow Author
on this topic (and at this level of detail) that the community recommends? What a
fascinating topic, I had never considered the importance of space like this. Born in Webster Groves, Missouri, Hall taught at
Like · One Year Ago · Add Your Answer the University of Denver, Colorado, Bennington
College in Vermont, Harvard Business School,
Illinois Ins tute of Technology, Northwestern
See 1 ques on about The Hidden Dimension…
University in Illinois and others. The founda on
for his lifelong research on cultural percep ons
of space was laid during World War II when he
LISTS WITH THIS BOOK served in the U.S. Army in Europe and the
Philippines.

From 1933 th ...more

BOOKS BY EDWARD T. HALL

Must-Read Architecture Books Essen al Books of Computer Science

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4.03 · Ra ng details · 1,033 ra ngs · 84 reviews TRIVIA ABOUT THE HIDDEN DIMENSION

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QUOTES FROM THE HIDDEN DIMENSION

Ricardo rated it Dec 26, 2012
Shelves: research-related-books
“ ‫إ‬. ‫ا‬ ‫دو‬ ‫أ‬ ‫إن ا‬
This is an extraordinary book, full of great insights despite having been first 4 — ”. ‫ا‬ ‫ر‬ ‫ا‬ likes
published fifty years ago. It's considered a foundational text in the
“ ‫ا‬ ‫ن‬ ‫ت‬ ‫وا‬ ‫إن ا س ا‬
anthropology of space, the study of "space" as a function of nurture rather
4 — ”. ّ likes
than nature, and as something that varies from one culture to another. The
More quotes…
author is specifically concerned with what he calls "proxemics," the
perception of proximity. Different cultures have different, unstated, rules for
what constitute intimate, personal, social, and pu ...more

6 likes · Like · comment · see review

Meghan Fidler rated it Dec 29, 2011

Shelves: intellectual-impuissance, lessons-in-how-not-to-do-things

I saw this book referenced in many works on technology and social

organization. Since I like to think about such things, and since I like to know
the theoretical background of scholars who generate the sour metal taste of
repugnance in my mind, I picked up this book.

My first impression was 'this could have been really cutting edge for the
Mythe
turn of Books
century.' Browse ▾ Community ▾

It was published in 1969.

The idea of the book, according the the author's preface, was to deal with
the following: "Information overload ...more

4 likes · Like · comment · see review

Emily rated it Aug 29, 2016

I guess it was alright. Had to read most of it for uni, again, only adding it
cause it stopped me from reading better stuff haha.

3 likes · Like · comment · see review

Bob Nichols rated it Dec 21, 2017

Spatial relationships, Hall states, have a biological substrate. Space involves

territoriality and all the values that go along with that. Referring to the
studies of an animal psychologist, Hall writes that “Territoriality…insures
the propagation of the species by regulating density. It provides a frame in
which things are done—places to learn, places to play, safe places to hide.
Thus it co-ordinates the activities of the group and holds the group
together. It keeps animals within communicatio ...more

1 like · Like · comment · see review

Mun rated it May 04, 2016

Shelves: psychology

This is one of those books that was probably really ground breaking when it
came out but now just kinda feels like, "Eh...". Edward Hall discusses
"proxemics", or the (science?) of space (not outer space, just like, how we
use space).

Before I proceed, let me just say that I hate the word "space". It reminds me
of a rad leftist magazine at my alum mater, along with a host of other words
like "intersectionality" and "oppression". All of which are fine but for some
reason I just don't like hearing ...more

1 like · Like · 2 comments · see review

Shirin rated it Jan 06, 2015

A core scientific reference guide studying the effect of proxemics on modes
of behavior and communication in different cultures. While the author
diligently compiled a detailed analysis comparing the European nations'-
namely the British, German, French and Japanese- behaviors with the
Americans in terms of space and time, he synopsized the study for the Arab
nation. It would have been effective and valuable to sample some major
countries from the Middle East & Africa, since they are ethnica ...more

1 like · Like · comment · see review

Dana Esreb marked it as to-read Apr 10, 2013

In this article appeared in the book, there are misconceptions about Arab's
behavior, but we agree with him on one point which is involvement. Arabs
are more involved with each other unlike Westerners; as they socialize and
interact on a daily basis. For example, it is rare to see an Arab sitting alone
in a coffee-shop or a restaurant while Westerners don't mind it at all.

1 like · Like · comment · see review

Harriet Caldwell rated it Jan 11, 2019

Although this book contained a lot of technical jargon, in terms of what it

has made me realise it has been a very good book, it has opened up my
understanding of the proxemics of space, how people keep distances
between themselves and other people or things. Each person has their own
boundary, it is how man uses the space that I am really interested in. I am
conducting sleep studies, I want to understand more of the
unconsciousness, and how the proxemics alter through the consciousness to
the u ...more

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Teri Temme rated it Nov 26, 2017

I didn't like the animal studies - but the cultural and space planning
discussions towards the end were priceless.

"This book emphasizes that virtually everything that man is and does is
associated with the experience of space. ... Hence, there is no alternative to
accepting the fact that people reared in different cultures live in different
sensory worlds."
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Kinan rated it Mar 28, 2018

my first interaction with Hall's works, defiantly worth diving more into the
other ones.
great insight for architects for in a field usually disregarded

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Michelle Powell rated it Jun 11, 2018

This book is really hard-to put down. Absolutely engaging.

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Brandon H rated it Feb 19, 2019

Shelves: american, nonfic on

A thought-provoking book about how people experience public spaces, with

a not-so-secret agenda against the Detroit automobile industry.

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Zirvita rated it Jun 26, 2018

Shelves: challenge

It is a great book full of briliiant ideas, although I found myself perplex at

his use of some terms or attitudes (as with women) that of course can
surprise us today. I think also that some excerpts should be better
referenced as well, as when he is explaining attitudes in "Arab" or
"Mediterranean" countries (me myself being Mediterranean) without proper
references and just pure observation. I found that some attitudes are simply
general assumptions and topics.
We should understand when it was w ...more

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Rani Jain rated it Feb 26, 2017

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Sam Hall rated it Jan 28, 2013

There's plenty to say about this book, written in the 1960's, that is still
prevalent and if nothing else prophetic. But the dated nature of observations
made in terms of race and sex get in the way of applying concepts to modern
city living.

However, there are gems of interest in connecting lines of species, between

humans and animals (arguably both animals). The way nature responds to
the way we are living is robust and dangerous, but we continue to live as
though we are not our automobiles, ho ...more

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Bangquito rated it Apr 16, 2015

Shelves: architecture

On reading experience: It's clear, structured, easy to read. Each paragraph

sandwiched in deductive form, tho the detail is the real treasure. By reading
preface you know exactly where to go without having to read much of
another chapter. Case of culture being present by comparison and story,
made it much easier to understand and remember. Plus, I don't even know
this kind of book could make me tickled in some part, i supposed i'd like to
hear how germany would say about some content.

On content: ...more

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Maryam Samer added it Apr 16, 2014

Though I have been waiting for a while to read this book, have seen it been
sited in different publications... they made this book sound interesting and
worth reading. Well I went through the book, thought of citing it, well I
already did cite it and wish there was some way to take back my steps. I
found some parts somehow offensive to my culture and not true, that could
be due it was written long time ago and that how things were when the book
was written, or it could be that the author's subje ...more

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Eden rated it Apr 14, 2013
Recommends it for: Students of Architecture and Urban Planning
Shelves: non-fic on, sociology, architecture-design

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Edward T. Hall presents a view on space that is intimately related to culture

as much as it is related to biology.

Hall starts by analysing the way animals perceive spatial distances between
themselves and other animals and how they react in situations of
overpopulation. Then, the author explains the way humans perceive the
distance through our different senses, and how it has affected art and
literature.

The next chapters focus on the different ways to see spatial organization
and human d ...more

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Salman Merchant™ rated it Apr 10, 2013

Hall, T. (1966) write in "The Arab World" about the differences in social
behavior between Arabs and Americans. He chose these differences by using
examples about differences of public behaviors in cultures with addition to
personal distance, privacy and how people face each other while talking. He
also explains how Arabs try to involve themselves in each others life and
how they don't like boundaries and then he concludes by stating how
cultures have different views about these behaviors.

I admi ...more

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Jean Santos added it Sep 11, 2015

I'm marking this as "Read" simply because Goodreads curiously doesn't
have a "Lost Interest" or "Gave Up" button. My disinterest in this book
stems from a primary assumption that linguistic relativity can extrapolated
to understand/explain man's perception of social and personal space. This is
a primo example of pop anthropology from the late '60s and its age shows.

To be blunt, I dropped this book because I'm pretty sure that the
significance of linguistic relativity has been walked back since ...more

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Sco S rling rated it Jun 12, 2013

An in depth book about the psychology of personal and public spaces. Listed
under architecture and psychology. Crosses back and forth into psychology
and culture and architecture, relates to city and building design to meet
universal and culturally specific requirements for personal and public
spaces. Relates psychology to biology and looks at some spatial psychology
studies in animals, if I recall. There are some black and white photos in the
book. One is of pigeons on a wire, spaced so evenly, ...more

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Derek rated it Oct 27, 2008

I thoroughly enjoyed The Hidden Dimension, a book that I would call "pop
anthropology" from 1966. The author discusses proxemics, or the study of
human's perception of space, especially between people. One of the most
revealing things to me was Edward T. Hall's basic, off-hand assertion that
Americans have an "acultural bias" -- they do not believe there are
significant cultural differences between people. This is an enlightening idea
in light of Hall's discussion of the proxemic differences bet ...more

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Samah rated it Feb 01, 2009

I haven't read much about anthropology, and I thought this was quite an
insightful reading. I hope I can find some more recent studies about the
subject. I particularly liked how it shows how much you can learn about
yourself just by "mindfully" observing your own behavior, or in other
words, how much knowledge you are missing by failing to notice the small
things in what you do. One thing I would like to share with those who are
interested, Arabic is my native language, and I know there is a wo ...more

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 Brenna Flood rated it Jul 28, 2007

Has a really excellent section pertaining to the differences in socialization

around the world regarding spaces and sense of space.
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One example noted in the book that impacted me was the observation that
French cafe seating is extremely intimate and closely packed, while
American counterpart's furniture is very spacious - intimating that
differences in our socialization that reflect upon how we interact, regard,
and value other people.

These and many other observations make this a very enjoyable ...more

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Fahed Suheil rated it Apr 10, 2013

In Edward T. Hall's book "The Hidden Dimension", he discusses in his

chapter. "The Arab World" how arabs are invovlved with each other on
many different levels simultaneously, using a negative tone. Personally, i
disagree with this point because usually being involved can save a person's
life. For example, if two people where fighting, a person's life could be taken
away before the police officers arrive or even be notified. Without
involvement, a call for help would take too long.

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Evie rated it Oct 22, 2011

Shelves: architecture

the book had some interesting facts, but felt extremely outdated. from the
way he presents his view on subjects to how he writes about the different
cultures, i just got the feeling that the book is old. From an architectural pov
there were some interesting issues raised about the various types of space
and how they correspond with the different cultures and perceptions but
apart from that i didn't get much out of the book :/

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JP rated it Sep 16, 2015

Shelves: favorites

Lovely book, i understood the meaning of space, The book make clear. what
went behind and left unnoticed. How different countries has different
practice of space. Amazing about the idea shared on Automobile, Building....
by different nation. First time a non-fiction book presented in a novel way.
The presentation of the book has to be appreciated coz it made to finish with
in few days inspite of my schedule of work. Great book

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Muriel rated it May 05, 2009

I read this one a long time ago, but I still count it as one of my favorite
books. Interesting sociological study of how different people use space in
their everyday relationships. The meaning of open and closed doore in
different cultures; the importance of distance in human relationships, etc.
Fascinating and an eye opener on cultural differences!

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Gianna rated it Jul 01, 2015

At the risk of sounding a bit generic here, I liked the socialization theories
Hall presented in The Hidden Dimension. Moreover, I appreciate his in-
depth details and examinations in regards to how individuals seem to
process and behave based off of the different facets of their innate culture. It
was a fascinating, insightful and informative read.

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Nicole Lisa rated it Dec 25, 2016

Shelves: non-fic on, 2016

Not as astonishing as The Silent Language and with a bit more of its
datedness showing I think. Still very interesting and it made me want to
read more up to date examinations of culture and architecture and culture
and expressions in the use of space.

Like · comment · see review

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DISCUSS THIS BOOK new topic

topics started by posts views last ac vity

The arab world Laith Al- 1 (1 new) 11 Apr 13, 2013

 naim… 01:47AM

Apr 11, 2013

The Arab World - respone Hiba 1 (1 new) 9
01:55PM
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Response to Concept of Privacy in Arab World Rakan 1 (1 new) 12
04:06AM

Summary of Concept of privacy in Cultural Apr 11, 2013

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Dimnsions 04:03AM

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