Stalking Invisible Objects: Analyzing Thingworlds in History and Archaeology w/John Robb

The human past is a material past, but we have never really understood material history. In large part this is due to a mismatch between what most material culture theories offer and what students of the past actually need. In this paper, following a quick, idiosyncratic and opinionated review of current material culture theory, Robb will argue that we need to shift from approaching objects philosophically to approaching them historically; this means innovating new methodologies which focus upon material culture’s most important qualities, the cumulativity and relationality which make a normal assemblage of objects a social reality of depth, persuasiveness and efficacy, a thingworld.

Sponsored by: Department of Anthropology; Department of History; Standing Committee on Archaeology; Medieval Material Culture Program, Committee on Medieval Studies