Emily Perron

February 15, 2017

COM 380

Brief Reading 2

Territoriality A Neglected Sociological Dimension presents the concept that all living

organisms have a sense of territoriality which is key to survival. People acknowledge

opportunities for boundary creation. The article discusses four types of territories: public, home,

interactional, and body. The article provides an interesting comparison to other living organisms

and descriptions and encroachments of the different types of territories.

The article describes the types of territories and territorial encroachment. Public

territories are open and individuals are free to claim some provided that actions are legal. Home

territories are places individuals have relative freedom and a sense intimacy or control. Home

territories are not necessarily a house and are claimed by discovery, the amount of use, or a

specific relationship. Bodily territory is immediately surrounding the body. Interactional

territories are present when a social gathering occurs and there is a boundary separating the

interaction. Each of these territories has defined boundaries and violations generally defined by

law, belonging, view to society. Members may extend territory to others, but intruding is not

tolerated. These territories can be encroached in three different ways: violation, invasion, and

contamination. Violation happens when the use of territory is unwarranted, invasion happens

when intruders cross boundaries, and contamination is when a territory is rendered impure.

The description of these territories explains the concept that different practices of Proxemics and

Haptics produce different attitudes and violate different taboos depending on relationships. As

discussed in class, different amounts of distances are appropriate in different situations. The
amount of territory one can claim depends on the amount of personal space deemed appropriate.

These boundaries are affected by the law, the amount of intimacy, and view to society as

explained in the article. These expectations and boundaries are evident in everyday society.

These territories define touch expectations and taboos as well as limits distinguishing Edward

Halls different distances. Through defining territories and setting boundaries individuals claim

personal space.

The article is supported by material learned about proxemics and haptics. However, the

article lacks smooth transition and flow and assumes all organisms have a sense of territory. It is

difficult to follow and goes back and forth between types of territories and encroachment. The

article mentions four types of territories and begins explaining encroachment after only

describing the first two. There is also limited information on public and interactional territories,

while the home territories and body territories sections are two to three times as long. The article

was understandable, but the organization of the content took away from the persuasiveness. The

different types of territories were defined but did not persuade me to analyze further. Further

research would help provide more substantial evidence and would provide an argument.

Territoriality A Neglected Sociological Dimension describes the four types of territories

and their encroachments. Though the article is informative and understandable it takes

unnecessary effort to follow and has limited evidence. These factors made the argument lack

persuasion and did not inspire interest in the topic.