New Books Network Joanna Merwood-Salisbury, "Barbarian Architecture: Thorstein Veblen’s Chicago" (MIT Press, 2024)
Nov 26, 2025
Joanna Merwood-Salisbury, an architectural historian and author, delves into the theories of Thorstein Veblen, focusing on Chicago's architectural landscape in the 1890s. She discusses Veblen's 'barbarian' thesis and critiques of modern institutions, such as the University of Chicago's Gothic Revival style. Joanna connects Veblen's insights to the cultural narratives of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition and explores his limited views on department stores. She also highlights links between Veblen and the Chicago design reform movements, showcasing an interdisciplinary approach to architecture.
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Veblen As An Urban Theorist
- Joanna Merwood-Salisbury argues Thorstein Veblen's work is an explicitly urban theory rooted in Chicago's experience.
- She situates Veblen like Walter Benjamin in Paris, showing his ideas emerge from place-specific urban conditions.
Skyscraper Ambivalence
- Early reception of the skyscraper was ambivalent, seen as both technological progress and an urban problem.
- Joanna emphasizes archival work revealing concerns about health, city life, and social impacts in 1890s Chicago.
Barbarianism Reimagined
- Barbarian Architecture reinterprets Veblen's claim that American modernity resembled regression to 'barbarian' social forms.
- Veblen used race-scientific evolution theories and inverted them to accuse his peers of retrograde behavior.
