Boxes And Arrows : The Design Behind the Design

Article Idea:

Anthropology & IA

suggested by Russ Lebo on 2005/12/24

Hey boxesandarrows!

Just thought I’d throw out an idea for an article: the value of anthropological theory for information architecture.

There are a number of ways it could be approached. Social anthropology, for example, has a long history of work in categorization and labeling systems. Claude Levi-Strauss and his particular brand of structural functionalism are the first things that come to my mind.

Cultural anthropology (more of an American institution than its largely continental counterpart) focuses on the fluid nature of information systems, with a strong focus on the ability of social systems to adapt to extrasystemic forces.

It’s unfortunate that so much of the literature of IA focuses on anthropological methods at the expense of theory. Ethnology and participant observation are both valuable tools, no doubt, but there is also a veritable slurry of theory – almost a full century’s worth -waiting to be tapped.

This is something I’d be happy to write myself, but I’d be equally content to contribute or merely suggest.

Great work with the redesign!

best,
-Russ