Barbarian Architecture

Thorstein Veblen’s Chicago

Joanna Merwood-Salisbury

$80

Paperback

Not in-store but you can order this
How long will it take?

Availability Information

We source books from suppliers in Australia and overseas. For books we don't currently have in stock, the time it takes to get them from our suppliers can vary widely - from a few days to a few months - so we check each book with each supplier to determine the expected time it will take to be supplied to us.

We then advise you accordingly. If the time taken to get any book is too long for you, you can let us know and we will cancel or adjust your order, and refund as required.

To find out the anticipated arrival time for specific items prior to ordering, please contact us by phone or email:

Phone +61 2 9264 3111, or 1800 4 BOOKS (1800 4 26657) if outside Sydney:
option 1 Abbey's Bookshop (Crime, History, Science, Kids & more) • info@abbeys.com.au
option 2 Language Book Centre (ESL & Foreign Languages) • language@abbeys.com.au
option 3 Galaxy Bookshop (Sci-fi, Fantasy, Romance, Graphic Novels) • sf@galaxybooks.com.au

QTY:

English

MIT Press
02 April 2024

Architecture

A richly visual architectural history and theory of modernity that reexamines Thorstein Veblen's classic text The Theory of the Leisure Class through the lens of Chicago in the 1890s.

A richly visual architectural history and theory of modernity that reexamines Thorstein Veblen's classic text The Theory of the Leisure Class through the lens of Chicago in the 1890s.

An important critic of modern culture, American economist Thorstein Veblen is best known for the concept of ""conspicuous consumption,"" the ostentatious and wasteful display of goods in the service of social status-a term he coined in his 1899 classic The Theory of the Leisure Class. In the field of architectural history, scholars have employed Veblen in support of a wide range of arguments about modern architecture, but never has he attracted a comprehensive and critical treatment from the viewpoint of architectural history. In Barbarian Architecture, Joanna Merwood-Salisbury corrects this omission by reexamining Veblen's famous book as an original theory of modernity and situating it in a particular place and time-Chicago in the 1890s.

Merwood-Salisbury takes her title from Veblen's use of the term ""barbarian,"" which refers to his belief that Gilded Age American society was a last remnant of a barbarian state of greed and acquisitiveness. Taking an interdisciplinary approach that draws on biography, intellectual history, and historiography, she explores Veblen's position in relation to debates about industrial reform and aesthetics in Chicago during the period 1890-1906. Bolstered by a strong visual narrative made possible by several of Chicago's historic photographic collections, Barbarian Architecture makes a compelling and original argument for the influence of Veblen's home city on his work and ideas.

By: Joanna Merwood-Salisbury
Imprint: MIT Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 225mm, Width: 140mm,
Weight: 369g
ISBN: 9780262547413
ISBN 10: 0262547414
Pages: 336
Publication Date: 02 April 2024
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Joanna Merwood-Salisbury is Professor of Architecture at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. She has held academic positions at Parsons School of Design, Bard College, and the University of Illinois at Chicago. Her publications include Design for the Crowd, After Taste, coedited with Kent Kleinman and Lois Weinthal, and Chicago 1890.