Abstract:
Scholarship on vernacular architecture
typically constructs the identity of the
vernacular subject in terms of a stable and
holistic culture, rooted in place and
community. On the other hand, the scholar of
vernacular architecture is modern, claiming
the attendant freedom to individually aspire
regarding profession, lifestyle, culture and
location. This paradox, although pervasive, is
rarely explicitly recognized. This failure
results in ethical conflicts that occur even with
the best intentions of the scholar.
The paper focuses on this ethical dilemma,
and argues that if it is not acknowledged it
pushes us towards the unacceptable situation
of an "either/or" choice: either suppress the
modernist aspirations of the vernacular
subject, or accept that culture and built
heritage have an unstable relationship that
reduces heritage to the superficiality of a
visual setting, within a hierarchy of power
that pushes vernacular culture to the margins.
The paper argues that the notions of
"modernity" and "vernacular" have to be
integrated into a framework that binds the
scholar and vernacular subject into a common
territory, without which it becomes difficult to
ethically validate scholarly study of the
vernacular. An outline of this framework is
proposed.
