Abstract
The aim of this article is to discuss some aspects that deal with color in Western culture. The word WHITE circulates in common discourse, sometimes as a noun, sometimes as an adjective, and sometimes in idiomatic expressions. Given the vastness of contexts in which it is used and circulates, I will focus on the meanings of color in artefacts that are part of Western material culture, as it is impossible to remove from them the symbolic force that results from their being WHITE.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
Culturally, the word hygiene goes back to the Greek concept of health (healthy mind and body), since it comes from Hygieia, the personification of health, considered to be one of the daughters of Asclepius. There is no myth associated with her, and she simply appears in Asclepius’ entourage [11].
References
Ferrão, L.: All about words [on Design]: on Glossolalia project. In: Procedia Manufacturing, 6th International Conference on Applied Human Factors and Ergonomics (AHFE 2015) and the Affiliated Conferences, vol. 3, pp. 6253–6257. Springer, Heidelberg (2015). doi:10.1016/j.promfg.2015.07.774
Pastoureau, M.: Dictionnaire des couleurs de notre temps: symbolique et société. Christine Bonneton, Paris (2007)
Simon, M.: Les dessous. Éditions du Chêne, Paris (1998)
Paterson, I.: A Dictionary of Colour. Thorogood Publishing, London (2003)
Chisholm, H. (ed.): Bleaching, Encyclopædia Britannica. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (2006). https://www.britannica.com/technology/bleach-chemistry. Accessed 6 Mar 2017
Eakins, T.: Portrait of Dr. Samuel D. Gross. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_gross_clinic_thomas_eakins.jpeg. Accessed 1 Mar 2017
Columbia University Medical Center: History of Medicine: White is the New Black (2016). http://columbiasurgery.org/news/2015/10/29/history-medicine-white-new-black. Accessed 2 Mar 2017
Hochberg, M.S.: History of medicine: the doctor’s white coat: an historical perspective, virtual mentor. AMA J. Ethics 9(4), 310–314 (2007). http://journalofethics.ama-assn.org/2007/04/mhst1-0704.html. Accessed 15 Feb 2017
Gillon, R.: White coat ceremony for new medical students. J. Med. Ethics 26(2), 83–84 (2000). doi:10.1136/jme.26.2.83. Accessed 3 Mar 2017
Forty, A.: Objects of Desire: Design and Society Since 1750. Thames & Hudson, London (1986)
Grimal, P.: The Dictionary of Classical Mythology (trans. by Maxwell-Hyslop, A.R.). Blackwell, London (1986)
Kohler of Kohler: Let the Kohler Electric Sink do the Dishes (1927). http://www.atticpaper.com/proddetail.php?prod=1927-kohler-electric-sink-ad. Accessed 3 Mar 2017
Giedion, S.: Mechanization Takes Command. O.U.P, New York (1948)
Rubens, P.P.: Palazzi antichi di Genova, palazzi moderni di Genova, with an introductory essay by A.A. Tait. B. Blom, New York (1968)
Lupton, E., Miller, J.A.: The Bathroom, the Kitchen and the Aesthetics of Waste: A Process of Elimination, p. 26. Kiosk, New York (1992)
Kandinsky, V.: On the Spiritual in Art, p. 68. The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, New York (1946). https://archive.org/details/onspiritualinart00kand. Accessed 26 Feb 2017
Acknowledgments
The author is grateful to FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia for its support for the postdoc research entitled Glossolalia: An Alphabet of Critical Keywords on Design, to CIAUD – Centro de Investigação em Arquitetura, Urbanismo e Design, Faculdade de Arquitetura, Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal and to CITAD – Centro de Investigação em Território, Arquitetura e Design, Universidades Lusíada, Portugal (financed by national funds from the FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, within the scope of the project UID/AUR/04026/2013).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG
About this paper
Cite this paper
Ferrão, L. (2018). Color in Glossolalia: White in Western Culture. In: Rebelo, F., Soares, M. (eds) Advances in Ergonomics in Design. AHFE 2017. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, vol 588. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60582-1_41
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60582-1_41
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-60581-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-60582-1
eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)