SOCI/ANTH 441 Material CultureMeeting 3, September 23, 2010

Naji/Douny

Unpacking

•Working with text•Did last week•Take apart•Decompression

Imagined readership?

•Anglophone anthropology•"Look, over here, we're doing interesting

stuff"•Taken seriously•Very concrete and very abstract•Sociological audience?

Phenomenology

•Connection with Dant•Much deeper•From surface to depth

Academic culture

•Do homework•Publish or perish•Collaboration•Special issue•European approaches•UCL, Marseille, Paris

Typical French approach

•Density•Sentence construction•"Unmaking"•"Foucauldian" as passing reference to

Foucault

Delve in definition

•Cosmology•Containment•performativity

Basic definitions

•technique•technology•Human action

Anglophone practice

•Strings of citation•Buzzwords•Address material culture classics

References

•Almost review article•Case studies

FTAT

•List of scholars•Links between them•History of ideas•Research groups•Classic texts•Current research

Material culture classics

•Affordances•Sociality of•Leroi-Gourhan•Bourdieu's habitus not enough space for

agency and social change•Merleau-Ponty•Body and materiality•Address "literature of"•From creating and using to norms and

practices

Unmaking and Decay

•Douny on trash•World without us•http://www.worldwithoutus.com/•Entropy and chaos•Object's life cycle

Discover blog on body perception•Failing to appreciate doors, and other

mysteries of brain space•http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2

010/09/22/failing-to-appreciate-doors-and-other-mysteries-of-brain-space/

Sensory Approaches

•Sensory integration in anthropology▫http://neuroanthropology.net/2008/05/27/ch

ildren-integrating-their-senses/•Ashley Montagu on touch

▫Touching: The Human Significance of the Skin

•occupational therapy and sensory stimulation▫Jean Ayres Sensory Integration and the

Child

CoP (Eckert)

•http://www.stanford.edu/~eckert/csofp.html

Project

Part I: Description of a “Thing”

•Due October 7•20% of the final grade•Maximum 4000 words (about 8 pages)•Assignment

▫Describe thing▫“Justify”▫Embed in social study▫Plan work

What the “thing” is

•Object type (What kind of an object is it?)•Sensory (What does it look/feel/smell

like?)•Construction (What is it made of?)•Function (What does it do? What is it used

for?)•History/genealogy/origin (Where did it

come from?)•Ecology/situatedness (How does it relate

to people and other objects?)•Social Contexts

Significance

•Anthropological/Sociological•Is it important?•Who is it important for? (Individuals,

groups, societies)•What does it mean?

Making sense

•Course material•Approaches•Literature

Plan

•How will you study it?•Resources•Primary sources•Secondary sources•Research methods

Description of a Thing

•Write a short descriptive history of your "thing." It is important that this not simply be a standard history of invention (a "who did what when" story). Your history should also consider:

A) What the "thing" is.

•What kind of object is it? What does it look like? What does it do?

•What is it used for?•This should include a description of:

▫The history or genealogy of your thing - an origin story; where didyour thing come from?

▫The situatedness or familial relations of your thing - a relationship story; how does your thing relate to people and other objects?

▫Describe the social ecology of your thing.

B) The significance of your "thing."

▫Is this object important? Why? Who is it important for? What does it mean?

C) A template for making sense of your “thing.”•Choose 1 or 2 articles from the course as

a model for your project. Describe how you think your study will conform or deviate from the model(s) you describe.

D) How will you study your “thing”?

•Describe the resources you will use to help complete your project; describe primary sources, secondary sources, research methodologies, etc.

Alex and the Moka Pots

Moka Pots

• Schnapp topic• Through Myron Joshua• Approaching object• Among favourite objects• Lived with them

Depictions

•Swiss Clip•French Clip

Personal Response

•React to presence or depictions•Homeliness•Familiarity•Ritual•Culinary•Europeanness•Nostalgic•Timeless

Part of my Identity

•Known as user of moka pots▫Expertise▫Influence

•Unusual in context•“Sophisticated yet simple”•CoffeeGeek•Culinary enthusiast

My Moka Pots

•“Seasoned”•Hard to replace•Coffee smelling•Varied (sizes...)

Features

•Portable•Light•Sturdy•Inexpensive•Durable•“Low Tech”•Filterless

Composition/Construction

•Aluminum•Stainless steel versions•“Aluminum scare”

Variety

•Bialetti models•Sizes (in “demitasse” cups)•Material•Design•Brands•Evolution (Mukka, Brikka…)

Functioning

•Coffee brewing method•“Instructions” (put water in...)•Internal working (steam pressure…)•Maintenance

▫Proper “Seasoning” ▫“Sacrificial pot”

Espresso?

•“Poor man’s espresso?”•Not the right amount of pressure•No need for barista experience•Simpler technology•No crema•Different taste•Subpar espresso or superior home drink

Brikka

•Evolution on Moka Express design•Top-hat widget•Bialetti patent•Crema-like emulsion•Tastes more like espresso•CoffeeGeek forum•Myron Joshua