Book chapter
Публичное пространство России в 1906-1916 гг.: направления эволюции и формы коммуникации
In book
The general purpose of the study is to consider private/public interaction within a public place – Anticafe – with the help of Frame Analysis by E. Goffman. The results could advance our understanding of the logic of social construction of space.Tasks: 1) characterizing the practical production of private space within the public space in terms of frame-analysis;2) getting a list of keying for visitors antikafe / open spaces;3) getting a «legend» for each antikafe / open space on the basis of identified "signifying practices";4) comparison the «legend» of antikafe / open space and the observed behavior of visitors.Anticafe is usually described as an «unobstructed place, where people can meet and communicate». It is certainly a public place, however, it provides an opportunity to feel «at home», i.e. latently permits the transformation of the public space into the private one. The lack of understanding of how people use public space and how they draw boundaries between their «private» and «non-private» zones can be an obstacle for designers to create better public places in urban environment.The initial model is based on Frame Analysis by E. Goffman and the theory of the space invention by M. de Certeau. Participant observation and thick description provide a record of behaviors of Anticafe’s visitors. The estimated number of the objects (Anticafes) is three: “Ziferblat na Pokrovke”, “Local Time” and “Lodge”. The duration of observation includes one weekday, Friday and day-off (approximately 5-6 hours per observation) for each object. All the practices and situations were recoded into several frames (“At home”, “On a visit”, “In Café”, “In the Office”) and final results are presented as a list of keying.The research has shown that the monitoring objects, known as formally «equal», in fact turned out to be three different models of social organization of space, which implies different ways to regulate the conduct of individuals. People consciously design a private space within the public through a variety of practices. Varying degree of «privatizing the space» during the interaction allows individuals to solve the conflict of frames.
The review highlights the significance of the anthropological perspective to the contemporary Russian city developed by the authors of the book. Describing the city through the lenses of the groups whose role in shaping the cityscape changed dramatically in last two decades, the book attracts attention to the new agents such as migrants, queer coomunities, youth subcultures contributing to the formation of new conventions and new practices of urban life. This perspective is important for understanding the urban life in Russia as shaped by everyday practices and interactions.