Abstract

CORTADO, Thomas Jacques. Houses made of views: an ethnography of walls in a peripheral plot of Rio de Janeiro. Etnográfica [online]. 2020, vol.24, n.3, pp.665-682. ISSN 0873-6561.

The ethnography of an irregular subdivision in the urban periphery of Rio de Janeiro suggests that walls, rather than the shrinkage of public sociability, affirm the constitutive presence of the others inside private life. First, walls (and fences) indicate that someone is taking care of the place, that is, they make public one’s practical commitment with the place. Then walls (and gates) give freedom and privacy to each family, revealing the individualistic and collectivist tendencies that build the “house configurations.” Finally, walls (and windows) act within an “economy of eyes”: according to the belief in the evil eye, people try to control their exposure to other people’s eye, while keeping an eye on them. The article concludes by advocating an ethnographic approach to public-private distinction, which focuses on this economy.

Keywords : urban periphery; domestic architecture; public-private; property relations; configuration of houses; evil eye.

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