A Material Culture

A Material Culture
Author :
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Total Pages : 286
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9780191077173
ISBN-13 : 0191077178
Rating : 4/5 (73 Downloads)

Book Synopsis A Material Culture by : Stephanie Wynne-Jones

Download or read book A Material Culture written by Stephanie Wynne-Jones and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2016-05-12 with total page 286 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Material Culture focuses on objects in Swahili society through the elaboration of an approach that sees people and things as caught up in webs of mutual interaction. It therefore provides both a new theoretical intervention in some of the key themes in material culture studies, including the agency of objects and the ways they were linked to social identities, through the development of the notion of a biography of practice. These theoretical discussions are explored through the archaeology of the Swahili, on the Indian Ocean coast of eastern Africa. This coast was home to a series of settlements from the seventh century onwards; some grew to become coral-built 'stonetowns'. These precolonial towns, such as Kilwa Kisiwani, Mombasa, and Gede, represent a unique urban tradition. They were deeply involved in maritime trade, carried out by a diverse Islamic population. This book suggests that the Swahili are a highly-significant case study for exploration of the relationship between objects and people in the past, as the society was constituted and defined through a particular material setting. Further, it is suggested that this relationship was subtly different than in other areas, and particularly from western models that dominate prevailing analysis. The case is made for an alternative form of materiality, perhaps common to the wider Indian Ocean world, with an emphasis on redistribution and circulation rather than on the accumulation of wealth. The reader will therefore gain familiarity with a little-known and fascinating culture, as well as appreciating the ways that non-western examples can add to our theoretical models.


A Material Culture Related Books

A Material Culture
Language: en
Pages: 286
Authors: Stephanie Wynne-Jones
Categories: Social Science
Type: BOOK - Published: 2016-05-12 - Publisher: Oxford University Press

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

A Material Culture focuses on objects in Swahili society through the elaboration of an approach that sees people and things as caught up in webs of mutual inter
Material Culture
Language: en
Pages: 250
Authors: Kenneth L. Ames
Categories: History
Type: BOOK - Published: 1985 - Publisher:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Handbook of Material Culture
Language: en
Pages: 588
Authors: Christopher Y. Tilley
Categories: Business & Economics
Type: BOOK - Published: 2006-01-26 - Publisher: SAGE

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Provides a critical survey of the theories, concepts, intellectual debates, substantive domains and traditions of study characterizing the analysis of things. T
Understanding Material Culture
Language: en
Pages: 202
Authors: Ian Woodward
Categories: Social Science
Type: BOOK - Published: 2007-05-09 - Publisher: SAGE

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

"In his interdisciplinary review of material culture, Ian Woodward goes beyond synthesis to offer a theoretically innovative reconstruction of the field. It is
Archaeological Artefacts as Material Culture
Language: en
Pages: 369
Authors: Linda Hurcombe
Categories: Social Science
Type: BOOK - Published: 2014-05-12 - Publisher: Routledge

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This book is an introduction to the study of artefacts, setting them in a social context rather than using a purely scientific approach. Drawing on a range of d