14 PPT 3e 2024

Chapter 14: Materiality: Constructing Social Relationships and Meanings with Things

Introduction

  • Explore the contentious nature of ownership over cultural artifacts.

  • Investigate anthropological perspectives on objects.

  • Discuss how meanings of objects change over time.

  • Examine the role of objects in shaping human goals and aspirations.

Learning Objectives

  • Distinguish between arts as creative expression and anthropological understanding of social dynamics.

  • Identify the multiple social dimensions of human-made objects.

  • Explain the social lives of objects, their forms, uses, and trajectories in people's lives.

  • Summarize how objects influence desires, aspirations, consumption patterns, and manipulation of others.

  • Analyze the role of material culture in shaping social relationships and cultural meanings.

Ownership of Artifacts from Other Cultures

  • Early 20th-century Western interests in 'primitive' artifacts.

  • Discrepancies in meaning between museums and the original creators/users.

Questions of Ownership, Rights, and Protection

  • Ongoing debates surrounding material culture and artifacts.

  • Agencies and laws: AIM, NAGPRA, and UNESCO's World Heritage Sites for repatriation and preservation issues.

Cultural Resource Management (CRM)

  • Involves documenting and interpreting historical sites and structures.

  • Protects cultural resources of communities, adopting applied anthropology beyond archaeology.

Thinking Like an Anthropologist: Materiality

  • Meanings of American Indian collections vary for different observers.

  • Contrast with historical artifacts from a settler community.

Many Dimensions of Objects

  • Representation: Physical dimensions—height, width, depth.

  • Time: Historical context of objects.

  • Power: Objects reflect social inequality and status.

  • Aesthetics: Cultural differences in aesthetic appreciation.

Analysis of a Bicycle

  • How to analyze its physical dimensions, historical context, power dynamics, wealth significance, and aesthetic appeal.

The Power of Symbols

  • Use of symbols in various traditions and cultures.

  • Modern visualization of religious figures influenced by history and art.

Symbols of Power

  • Aesthetics serve to legitimize social, political, or religious authority.

  • Example: Oba chief of Benin and the use of leopard imagery.

Barjani's Bowler Hat

  • Historical context: Walis Island shrine honoring Barjani, evidence of Western cultural influence (Charlie Chaplin bowler hat).

Changing Meanings of Objects Over Time

  • Arjun Appadurai's concept: Objects have life spans—birth, exchange, use, and discard.

  • Social relationships and cultural ideologies influence these phases.

The Social Life of Things

  • Case study: Journey of shoes from manufacture to consumption, reflecting complex social dynamics.

How Objects Change Over Time

  • Objects evolve in three significant ways:

    • Changing form across generations.

    • Changing meaning in various contexts.

    • Changing significance as they pass through different owners.

Object Significance and Context Changes

  • Historical example: Arrival of iron in Tahiti led to dramatic social changes and stereotypes.

Object Significance Changes with Ownership

  • Transition of a New Guinean stone axe from a useful tool to a museum artifact.

  • Historical context: Common Indonesian plants transformed into luxury commodities during spice trade.

Thinking Like an Anthropologist: Materiality (Reflections)

  • Objects may hold different values over time (material, sentimental).

  • Reflection on personal possessions and their evolving significance.

Objects' Role in Shaping Goals and Aspirations

  • Objects embody personal and collective history.

  • Help express and formulate goals and aspirations, influencing societal perceptions.

Cultural Biography of Things

  • Study of object biographies reveals social relationships and cultural dynamics.

  • Meanings of objects can convey varying, even conflicting, messages in communities.

Culture of Mass Consumption

  • Objects reflect and shape identities, aspirations, and social status.

  • Consumer culture offers a variety of objects for self-expression.

Anthropology of Consumption

  • Consumption acts express social status, economic means, gender identities, and group affiliations.

  • Shopping is illustrative of these dynamics.

Advertising and Object Manipulation

  • Advertising as a tool for affecting consumer behaviors and perceptions, often leveraging insecurities.

Thinking Like an Anthropologist: Store Analysis

  • Analyze consumer demographics targeted by stores.

  • Marketing strategies and their effectiveness in appealing to specific groups.

Review of Learning Objectives

  • Summarize usage of objects in expressing desires and aspirations.

  • Explain social lives of objects in human experiences.

  • Identify dimensions of human-made objects.

  • Clarify the difference between creative arts and the anthropological study of object dynamics.

Definitions

  • NAGPRA: Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act; U.S. law that outlines the rights of Native American tribes to reclaim their cultural items, including human remains and sacred objects.

  • Repatriation: The process of returning cultural artifacts to their country or community of origin, often in the context of Indigenous rights and historical injustices.

  • Cultural Biography of Things: A concept in anthropology that examines the life history of objects, including how they change in meaning and significance through various contexts, ownerships, and uses.

  • Material Culture: The physical objects, resources, and spaces that people use to define their culture, such as tools, clothing, buildings, and art.

  • Culture of Mass Consumption: A societal phenomenon where goods are produced and consumed on a large scale, shaped by consumer culture that reflects and influences identities and social norms.

1. The Career of a Mundane Object: A Coffee Mug

  • Birth: The mug is manufactured in a factory, created from materials like ceramic or plastic, often incorporating designs and branding.

  • Exchange: It may be given as a gift, purchased in a store, or acquired online; the transaction reflects social relationships, with different meanings to different owners.

  • Use: Used daily in various contexts such as work or home, serving functional purposes (drinking coffee) and social purposes (sharing with friends).

  • Discard: Eventually, the mug may be broken, replaced, or recycled, reflecting its journey and significance in the owner's life, perhaps discarded due to wear or changing tastes.

2. Role of Anthropology of Material Objects in Advertising and Manufacturing

The anthropology of material objects can help advertisers and manufacturers understand the cultural significance of products, enabling them to:

  • Design products that resonate with consumers' identities and values, appealing to emotional and symbolic meanings associated with those products.

  • Tailor marketing strategies that reflect the social lives of objects, ensuring advertisements highlight aspects like status, community, and individual aspirations, ultimately affecting purchase decisions.

3. Cultural Resource Management (CRM)

Cultural Resource Management involves documenting, preserving, and interpreting historical and archaeological sites and materials. This field is crucial for a few reasons:

  • Protection of Histories: CRM helps safeguard cultural resources against destruction due to development, neglect, or looting, ensuring that histories and cultural legacies are preserved for future generations.

  • Community Engagement: It often involves collaboration with Indigenous communities, fostering respect for cultural heritage and acknowledging historical injustices, which is vital for reconciliation and understanding myriad cultural narratives.