Edward T. Hall

Edward T. Hall (born May 16 1914, Webster Groves, Missouri) is a respected anthropologist and cross-cultural researcher. He has taught at the University of Denver, Colorado, Bennington College in Vermont, Harvard Business School, Illinois Institute of Technology, Northwestern University in Illinois and others. The foundation for his lifelong research on cultural perceptions of space was laid during World War II when he served in the U.S. Army in Europe and the Philippines.

Related Topics:
May 16 - 1914 - Webster Groves, Missouri - Anthropologist - University of Denver - Colorado - Bennington College - Vermont - Harvard Business School - Illinois Institute of Technology - Northwestern University - Illinois - Perception - World War II - U.S. Army - Europe - Philippines

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

From 1933 through 1937 Hall lived and worked with Navajo and Hopi on native American reservations in northwestern Arizona, the subject of his autobiographical West of the Thirties. He received his Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1942 and continued field work and direct experience throughout Europe, the Middle East and Asia. During the 1950s he worked for the United States State Department teaching inter-cultural communications skills to foreign service personnel, developed the concept of "high-context" and "low-context" cultures, and wrote several popular practical books on dealing with cross-cultural issues.

Related Topics:
1933 - 1937 - Navajo - Hopi - Reservation - Arizona - Columbia University - 1942 - Middle East - Asia - 1950 - United States State Department

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Hall first identified the concept of proxemics, or personal spaces. In his book, The Hidden Dimension, he describes the subjective dimensions that surrounds someone and the physical distances one tries to keep away from other people according to subtle cultural rules.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In The Silent Language (1959), Hall coined the term polychronic to describe the ability to attend to multiple events simultaneously, as opposed to "monochronic" individuals and cultures who tend to handle events sequentially.

Related Topics:
1959 - Polychronic

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~