MAS Phase 1 Study Set

Material Culture

Objects encountered, interacted with, and used by people; related to social functions and meanings.

Commodity Fetishism

A Marxist concept where objects appear to hold inherent value, obscuring the social relations of their production.

Signifier

The form a sign takes, such as sound, image, or object.

Signified

The concept that the sign represents; meaning or idea associated with a signifier.

Langue

The underlying system of rules governing language use, shared by a community.

Parole

The actual speech acts or instances of language use; individual utterances.

Bricoleur

A creative assembler who recombines existing elements in new ways, often within cultural contexts.

Semiotic Guerrilla Warfare

A practice of subverting mainstream meanings by taking ordinary objects and inverting their meanings.

Aesthetic Value Markers

Objects that signify personal taste and reproduce social inequality based on class.

Discursive Practices

Recognizing that the meanings of objects can vary based on context, user perspectives, and social circumstances.

Myth (Barthes)

A second-order semiological system that naturalizes cultural/historical meanings and obscures underlying ideologies.

Social Life of Objects

The concept that objects' meanings change across time and various social contexts.

Power Dynamics

The social control exerted through objects, revealing hierarchies and societal structures.

Cultural Codes

The systems through which material objects gain meaning via classification and relationships within culture.

Sign Value

The status and cultural prestige derived from objects; position in a system of objects.

Alienation

A key concept in Marxist theory, describing the disconnection individuals experience in a capitalist society regarding their labor and objects.

Cultural Appropriation

The adoption of elements of one culture by members of another culture, often without understanding or respect.

Surveillance-Based Systems of Control

Modern forms of social control exemplified by designs like Foucault's Panopticon.

Punk Aesthetic

A style of resistance that challenges social norms through recontextualization of objects.

Social Status Signifiers

Objects that communicate an individual's economic or social status, such as luxury items.

Early Ethnological Principle

The initial focus on hierarchical cultural ordering that objectified non-Western cultures.

Institutional Critique

The examination of how structures shape and dictate the production of culture and objects.

Material Culture

Objects encountered, interacted with, and used by people; related to social functions and meanings.

Commodity Fetishism

A Marxist concept where objects appear to hold inherent value, obscuring the social relations of their production.

Signifier

The form a sign takes, such as sound, image, or object.

Signified

The concept that the sign represents; meaning or idea associated with a signifier.

Langue

The underlying system of rules governing language use, shared by a community.

Parole

The actual speech acts or instances of language use; individual utterances.

Bricoleur

A creative assembler who recombines existing elements in new ways, often within cultural contexts.

Semiotic Guerrilla Warfare

A practice of subverting mainstream meanings by taking ordinary objects and inverting their meanings.

Aesthetic Value Markers

Objects that signify personal taste and reproduce social inequality based on class.

Discursive Practices

Recognizing that the meanings of objects can vary based on context, user perspectives, and social circumstances.

Myth (Barthes)

A second-order semiological system that naturalizes cultural/historical meanings and obscures underlying ideologies.

Social Life of Objects

The concept that objects' meanings change across time and various social contexts.

Power Dynamics

The social control exerted through objects, revealing hierarchies and societal structures.

Cultural Codes

The systems through which material objects gain meaning via classification and relationships within culture.

Sign Value

The status and cultural prestige derived from objects; position in a system of objects.

Alienation

A key concept in Marxist theory, describing the disconnection individuals experience in a capitalist society regarding their labor and objects.

Cultural Appropriation

The adoption of elements of one culture by members of another culture, often without understanding or respect.

Surveillance-Based Systems of Control

Modern forms of social control exemplified by designs like Foucault's Panopticon.

Punk Aesthetic

A style of resistance that challenges social norms through recontextualization of objects.

Social Status Signifiers

Objects that communicate an individual's economic or social status, such as luxury items.

Early Ethnological Principle

The initial focus on hierarchical cultural ordering that objectified non-Western cultures.

Institutional Critique

The examination of how structures shape and dictate the production of culture and objects.

Karl Marx: Key Concepts & Material Culture Perspective

An economist and sociologist who focused on production. He proposed Commodity Fetishism and Alienation, viewing objects as hiding exploitation and alienating people under capitalism. His perspective is limited by overlooking consumption creativity.

Georg Simmel: Key Concepts & Material Culture Perspective

A sociologist who focused on social experience, particularly mediation and social distance. He saw objects as mediating modern life, creating differentiation and alienation. His work offers less focus on power/exploitation.

Belk & Wallendorf: Key Concepts & Material Culture Perspective

Psychologists and marketers focused on personal significance in consumption. They view consumption as being about identity, not just materialism. Their approach provides less structural analysis.

Ferdinand de Saussure: Key Concepts & Material Culture Perspective

A linguist who focused on the structure of meaning through Langue/Parole and Signifier/Signified. He viewed objects as signs within a system, gaining meaning from relationships. His theory is abstract and less about actual objects.

Claude Lévi-Strauss: Key Concepts & Material Culture Perspective

An anthropologist who focused on cultural codes, known for his work on the Bricoleur and structural analysis. He believed objects gain meaning through classification and can be creatively used. His approach can sometimes be overly deterministic.

Roland Barthes: Key Concepts & Material Culture Perspective

A semiotician who focused on hidden meanings, particularly Mythology and ideology. He argued objects embody myths that naturalize cultural/historical meanings. His theories can be complex and hard to apply practically.

Jean Baudrillard: Key Concepts & Material Culture Perspective

A philosopher and sociologist who focused on symbolic systems, developing concepts like Sign Value and simulation. He described four stages of value, asserting that sign value dominates consumer society. His perspective is often seen as pessimistic and overlooks individual agency.

Dick Hebdige: Key Concepts & Material Culture Perspective

A cultural studies scholar who focused on youth subcultures, examining subcultural style and resistance. He viewed objects as being recontextualized for resistance through bricolage. His work primarily focused on subcultures and the process of incorporation.

Who are key theorists associated with structuralist views in the study of material culture?

Ferdinand de Saussure, Claude Lévi-Strauss, Roland Barthes, and Jean Baudrillard.

What are the functions of objects?

• Signify economic status

• Signify cultural identity

• Signify subcultural affiliation

• Carry personal and emotional meanings

What are the core features of structuralism?

1. Surface vs. Deep Structures

2. Foundational Generative Schemes

3. Objective Analysis

4. Extension of Linguistic Concepts

5. Downplays Human Agency

What are the four stages of object significance, according to Baudrillard?

1. Use Value

2. Exchange Value

3. Symbolic Exchange Value

4. Sign Value