<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>According to Giorgio Agamben, the Greek term for ‘habitual dwelling place,’ or ‘habit,’ is <italic>ethos</italic>. The rise to prominence in the twentieth century of the modern idea of the suburb, or ‘suburbia,’ held open the door to the potential realization of the American (and Canadian) dream <italic>ethos</italic> of universal home ownership. The tantalizing appeal of a the ideal of ‘home’ and ‘homeland’ have become key terms in the Post World War Two pursuit of a mode of ‘dwelling’ linked to consumer capitalism. Yet for Frankfurt School critics such as Theodor W. Adorno, the pursuit of this suburban ideal induced a deep sense of <italic>ennui</italic> such that to feel ‘at home’ in such a suburban environment challenged the very foundations of the dwelling place of Western civilization. “It is part of morality,” Adorno concluded in his book, <italic>Minima Moralia</italic>, “not to be at home in one’s home.” This text is an exercise in examining this question of “dwelling” and “home” through an allegorical poetical focus (drawn from Walter Benjamin and Charles Baudelaire) focusing on a newly completed suburb in the Canadian city of Halifax, Nova Scotia.</p>
</abstract>

According to Giorgio Agamben, the Greek term for ‘habitual dwelling place,’ or ‘habit,’ is ethos. The rise to prominence in the twentieth century of the modern idea of the suburb, or ‘suburbia,’ held open the door to the potential realization of the American (and Canadian) dream ethos of universal home ownership. The tantalizing appeal of a the ideal of ‘home’ and ‘homeland’ have become key terms in the Post World War Two pursuit of a mode of ‘dwelling’ linked to consumer capitalism. Yet for Frankfurt School critics such as Theodor W. Adorno, the pursuit of this suburban ideal induced a deep sense of ennui such that to feel ‘at home’ in such a suburban environment challenged the very foundations of the dwelling place of Western civilization. “It is part of morality,” Adorno concluded in his book, Minima Moralia, “not to be at home in one’s home.” This text is an exercise in examining this question of “dwelling” and “home” through an allegorical poetical focus (drawn from Walter Benjamin and Charles Baudelaire) focusing on a newly completed suburb in the Canadian city of Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Homes for Canadians (I)

American, British and Canadian Studies

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

{"article-title":"Homes for Canadians (I)"}

According to Giorgio Agamben, the Greek term for ‘habitual dwelling place,’ or ‘habit,’ is ethos. The rise to prominence in the twentieth century of the modern...

Homes for Canadians (I)

Published Online: Jul 31, 2021

Page range: 187 - 216

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/abcsj-2021-0011

Keywords
Suburbia, Dwelling, Home, Utopia, Dystopia, Memory, History, the Body, Chiasmus, Ruins, Ephemeral, and the Allegorical

© 2021 David Brian Howard, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Homes for Canadians (I)

Published Online: Jul 31, 2021

Page range: 187 - 216

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/abcsj-2021-0011

KeywordsSuburbia, Dwelling, Home, Utopia, Dystopia, Memory, History, the Body, Chiasmus, Ruins, Ephemeral, and the Allegorical

© 2021 David Brian Howard, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Keywords
Suburbia, Dwelling, Home, Utopia, Dystopia, Memory, History, the Body, Chiasmus, Ruins, Ephemeral, and the Allegorical