Hello class,
Welcome to the HU625 blog. More information coming soon.
Course Description and Outcomes:
Simply put, the study of material culture is the study of “things”—human-made or human-modified products. These “things” can include clothing, your grandmother’s heirloom jewelry, a formally landscaped garden, a painting, or the contents of a trash can. The study of material culture is based on the belief that human-made objects can be “read” in much the same way that we read written texts. Scholars of material culture read cultural products as a way to uncover the beliefs, values, attitudes, needs, hopes and fears of a particular society at a particular moment.
However, the study of objects alone is not enough. Material culture scholars must study contexts as well as objects, for it is only by considering the historical, social, spatial, and cultural contexts that we can come to a fuller understanding of the meaning expressed by the human-made/modified product itself.
In addition, the field of material culture studies is filled with challenges and debates. Scholars sometimes argue that objects “speak” to us about the past. What does this mean? How can we know for sure what the artifact(s) is “saying” to us? What are the limitations of using objects as evidence? Is it possible to overstate an object’s value as evidence? Is it possible to overstrain an interpretation? Such questions are endemic to the field and are important to our investigations this semester.
This course introduces students to the multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary field of material culture studies through readings, discussion, and research in an array of fields including art history, anthropology, folklore, and history. It is important to recognize that our readings will NOT deal primarily with contemporary art. Rather, this seminar is designed to help you develop critical skills of object analysis and will encourage you to consider the relationships between human –made/modified products and cultural meaning. Finally, through your research projects and presentations we will interrogate the ways material culture methodology is/may be used by practicing artists.
However, the study of objects alone is not enough. Material culture scholars must study contexts as well as objects, for it is only by considering the historical, social, spatial, and cultural contexts that we can come to a fuller understanding of the meaning expressed by the human-made/modified product itself.
In addition, the field of material culture studies is filled with challenges and debates. Scholars sometimes argue that objects “speak” to us about the past. What does this mean? How can we know for sure what the artifact(s) is “saying” to us? What are the limitations of using objects as evidence? Is it possible to overstate an object’s value as evidence? Is it possible to overstrain an interpretation? Such questions are endemic to the field and are important to our investigations this semester.
This course introduces students to the multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary field of material culture studies through readings, discussion, and research in an array of fields including art history, anthropology, folklore, and history. It is important to recognize that our readings will NOT deal primarily with contemporary art. Rather, this seminar is designed to help you develop critical skills of object analysis and will encourage you to consider the relationships between human –made/modified products and cultural meaning. Finally, through your research projects and presentations we will interrogate the ways material culture methodology is/may be used by practicing artists.
Monday, January 21, 2008
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My name is Alex. I'm in this class.
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i'm in this class too
The City As Material Culture : Dell Upton, Comment by Danita Barrentine
Wow, what an eye opener! This reading delved into the theories and ways of life. The city as an artifact is a interesting notion, along with the grid of the city being considered an artifact. I found the discussion about the city gird very insightful to my own work, as a matter of fact it helped me move closer to my objective in painting.
I had never stopped to think that maybe sounds and combinations of sounds could have an impact on the design of the city, especially the cracking of a whip disturbing the courtroom so that the proceedings were held up.
Finally, another discussion that was interesting was the issue of prisons. They were designed as small cities, and it seems that no effect on the prisoner was accidental. Although the prisons were in effect the perfect city, the human condition was another aspect that seemed to be forgotten.
Again, this discussion opened up my eyes to a world never before considered.
Shaping the Field, Garrison and Martin: Comment by Danita Barrentine
Shaping the Field discusses the topics brought up at a conference called The Shape of the Field. Discussed are theories of Henry Glassie and his study of Virginian buildings, Deetz is also mentioned, he argued that historical archeology should be considered " the science of material culture". The whole notion that we can take the objects around us, or left over from another time and study them to find out more about our history is interesting. There is a discussion on the illiteracy within American Culture at the time, brings forth the question of "What about the people without written record?" Slavery and Women are used to explain this idea. At the end, the discussion brings us to the conclusion that in order to comprehend fully our history, we need to also understand the objects that make up that history.
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