1 - Domestic space and social organisation

Summary

Dwelling is about the active projection of the social and individual being by means of the artefact.

Humphrey 1988, 18

[F]ocus on the fine-grained relationship between people and the material culture of the home…leads to powerful insights into the societies in question.

Miller 2001, 15

INTRODUCTION

In the 2002 film comedy My Big Fat Greek Wedding, the Greek American screen parents of actress Nia Vardalos host a dinner for her fiancé's White Anglo-Saxon Protestant mother and father, so that the families can meet each other for the first time. The event is held at their home in a Chicago suburb, yet to the guests of honour it is obvious from the outset that this is not going to be quite the dinner party they had anticipated. Drawing up at the house they are greeted by a large, extended family gathered outside. Two whole lambs are roasting on spits over an open fire in the middle of the front lawn. In the background the house itself is an unremarkable two-storey building but it has been customised by the owners: an up-and-over garage door has been painted to resemble a Greek flag, and replica Classical statues of the Greek goddess Aphrodite watch over the assembled crowds. As the evening unfolds, the Greek Americans continue to confound their guests' expectations: a contribution brought to the evening meal has to be identified as a cake for the hostess.