Material Culture :

Rating:
Summary: Cultural Material
Review: Following an intriguing introduction, this book provides useful ways to study material culture. One chapter explains how material culture provides resources for studying history. This idea is key to the study of archaeology, and Glassie demonstrates how to study objects to examine the recent past. There is an vibrant chapter on the role of material culture in the life of a repairer of fine carpets who becomes a carpet seller in Philadelphia. Two of the strongest chapters deal with pottery and vernacular architecture. He provides fascinating insights into art by comparing various pottery traditions as diverse as Appalachian face jugs to Hindu religious art in Bangaldesh. The chapter on vernacular architecture is a tour de force that provides an overview of relationships between American history and architecture as well as useful ways to examine the built environment.

Rating:
Summary: The Model for Ethnographic Study of Objects
Review: This book is essential reading for anyone interested in ethnographic description and cultural interpretation. Glassie convincingly argues why the study of material culture challenges the received wisdom of the academy. More importantly, he applies his theory to the practice of completing an incredibly rich and lush reading of folk arts and vernacular architecture. This book provides a rich, interesting, and accessible model for learning to study cultural expressions -- be they Turkish carpets, Japanese ceramics, Appalachian face jugs, Gothic-revival houses, and an array of nifty objects. Glassie is also providing an exciting way to challenge the fragmentation of knowledge and the disconnected view of humankind that has been an unfortunate legacy of postmodernist cultural study.