Anth 3520 - Social Lives of Places and Things
Notes from 24 January 2008
Plan for class:
Admin - I'll post the major assignment guidelines here sometime over the next couple of days, and we'll talk about it next week. Same with the reading sched for the rest of the term
Discussions:
* Thinking about things from different perspectives... their evolution etc...
* Things that don't exist but should
* T-shirt Travels (video 6389)
Your homework for this week was this:
As you read, think about how these readings compare to the Molotch book.
Your homework:
a) Prepare a brief commentary on the similarities and differences in these authors' approaches to "stuff"; i.e., briefly compare Petroski, Basalla, Dant, and Molotch, OR any two or three of those authors. What does each assume about stuff and the way it comes to be, and its role in the world?
This should be about 400-500 words long (point form or table form is okay), and will be worth 2% of your mark. Come to class prepared to discuss!
b) As you go about your life this week, look around... think about objects that SHOULD exist, but DON'T. Brainstorm and come up with something that doesn't exist, that you think SHOULD exist. Why doesn't it exist in our world? Draw a sketch and write a short description (200-300 words). This is worth 1% of your mark. We'll be passing these around and discussing them in class!
|
|
▪ Henry Petroski. 1992. The Evolution of Useful Things. New York: Vintage Books. Ch 4, pp 51-77 “From Pins to Paper Clips” From Pins to Paper Clips (677 Kb) ▪ George Basalla, 1988. The Evolution of Technology. Ch 1 pp 1-25. “Diversity, Necessity, and Evolution” and OPTIONAL Ch 2 pp 26-63 “Continuity and Discontinuity”. Diversity, Necessity, Evolution (1333 Kb) The Evolution of Technology (935 Kb) ▪ Tim Dant, 1999. Material Culture in the Social World. Buckingham: Open University Press. Ch 5 pp 85-109, Ch 8 pp 153-175. “Wearing it Out: Written and Material Clothing”, and “Turn it on: Objects that Mediate”. Wearing It Out (1346 Kb) Turn It On (1316 Kb)
|
For next week... What happens to stuff when we're done using it!
Do the readings and also... Think about garbage! Pay attention to what you throw out, where you throw it out, why.... just think generally about garbage disposal habits in our society. Come to class ready to talk!