American Artifacts: Essays in Material Culture [Paperback]

Jules David Prown (Editor), Kenneth Haltman (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0870135244 | ISBN-13: 978-0870135248 | Publication Date: September 20, 2000 | Edition: 1

When defining culture, one must indeed take into account even the minutest of details. What of a lighter, for example, or a telephone? The essays in this new collection examine just that. The contributors pose not only a historical, pragmatic use for the items, but also delve into more imaginative aspects of what defines us as Americans. Both the lighter and the telephone are investigated, as well as how the lava lamp represents sixties counterculture and containment. The late nineteenth- century corset is discussed as an embodiment of womanhood, and an Amish quilt is used as an illustration of cultural continuity. These are just a few of the artifacts discussed. Scholars will be intrigued by the historical interpretations that contributors proposed concerning a teapot, card table, and locket; students will not only find merit in the expositions, but also by learning from the models how such interpretation can be carried out. This collection helps us understand that very thing that makes us who we are. Viewing these objects from both our past and our present, we can begin to define what it is to be American.

 

Editorial Reviews

Review

"American Artifacts will serve well as a reader for a course in material culture studies... Informative as well as entertaining." -- Gerald W.R. Ward, Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, vol.126, April 2002, 355-57.

"The essays in American Artifacts display vigorous,... creative historical research to augment intensely focused object study... Delightful, fresh, insightful." -- Gretchen T. Buggeln, Winterthur Portfolio, v.36, September 2002, 245-48.

About the Author

Jules David Prown is Paul Mellon Professor Emeritus of the History of Art, Yale University and the author of John Singleton Copley and American Painting from Its Beginning to the Armory Show. He has taught at Yale for almost forty years, and received the Distinguished Teaching of Art History Award from the College Art Association of America in 1995.

Kenneth Haltman is Assistant Professor of Art History and American Studies at Michigan State University. He is author of Figures in A Western Landscape which treats early nineteenth-century expeditionary art and science as well as critical translations of works by French phenomenologist of the imagination Gaston Bachelard.

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Michigan State University Press; 1 edition (September 20, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0870135244
• ISBN-13: 978-0870135248
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #635,391 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thirteen superb commentaries by men and women, May 16, 2001

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Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: American Artifacts: Essays in Material Culture (Paperback)

In American Artifacts: Essays In Material Culture, Jules Prown and Ken Haltman have assembled thirteen superb commentaries by men and women who articulately explore the cultural and social meanings ascribed to a variety of common objects ranging from teapots, cart tables, and quilts, to cigarette lighters, telephones, and lava lamps. Here is an impressive and "reader friendly" collection of essays that are as informative and thought-provoking as they are erudite and challenging. American Artifacts is highly recommended reading for students of American popular culture and art.