Housing Discourse: Historical development, epistemological gap and
sociological modeling
- Efa Tadesse Debele,
- Taye Negussie
Abstract
Housing issue is essentially major social issue. Even though housing is
vital for individual life and social life, the attention given to its
theorization and epistemological framework is neglected. Different
disciplines and scholars from different disciplinary background have
been carrying out housing study. The misplacement of housing study and
social relegation of housing per se triggered this theoretical review of
housing discourses. Housing study needs to have self-governing
epistemological ground and housing research should be framed with its
grand theories. Housing is a key social need that strongholds the
foundational essence of social fabric. So far housing studies did not
understand housing discourses as a central sociological agenda.
Isolation of housing issue from major sociological concerns misplaced
housing study thereby affected epistemological and methodological
advancement of housing knowledge. Therefore, housing study call for
grand theory that potentially governs all aspects of housing issues.
Housing is a social phenomenon which can be expressed in terms of
processes, behaviors, development and structures. Housing problems are
attributed to different social dynamics and structural challenges which
enforce households to behave in different ways to cope with the
problems. These issues are basically sociological concerns which enable
us to scaffold housing study with sociological theories.