The control of social space in Mennonite housebarns of Manitoba, 1874-1940

Mennonite migrants coming to southern Manitoba from south Russia in the 1870s and afterwards brought with them a unique settlement pattern and architectural heritage that included open prairie street villages and the construction of housebarns. Mennonite households were treated in this study as a form of ethnic architecture encompassing social and economic concepts of individual and public values. The structural and habitation histories of twenty-six dwellings were documented and analyzed. Oral interviews with former inhabitants were conducted to provide historical, social and personal context. This research was informed by Pierre Bourdieu's theory of practice and the concept of habitus. a set of durable dispositions carried by an individual throughout their lifetime. Habitus is structured by daily practice, including the activities and relationships found in household settings. Mennonite households in this study were examined to determine the degree to which they were products and producers of habitus, and how this changed over time. Dwellings were also examined as products of status display strategies, and exteriors and orientations of houses were compared to previous studies of Mennonite architecture. Mennonite habitus was structured according to strict age and gender categories that were physically symbolized in furnishings, decoration, and activity areas found in Mennonite dwellings. Over time, as many villages dissolved and an ethic of individualism was incorporated into Mennonite society, these categories weakened. It was determined that variations of the Flurkuechenhaus design concept used by Mennonites were related to financial and social status differences within an orthopraxic village setting. When villages dissolved due to the relatively open nature of land acquisition in Manitoba, Mennonite homes reflected and inculcated the increasing independence and individuality of the household economic unit. In the villages that remained. extant housebarns were modified in both interior and exterior design to accommodate changing ' concepts of family, economy, and status. Over time these structures were transformed to accommodate both ethnic Mennonite and mainstream Canadian stylistic elements and spatial use.