Wilhite: What Objects Mean: Chapter One: Making Sense of Material Culture

Object/Artifact: relatively simple objects showing human workmanship (16)
1. needs
2. wants
  1. Our needs, our wants manifest in objects reveal who we are
3. Material culture is the world of things that people make and things that we purchase or possess so it is part of our consumer culture (16).
the knowledge of the soul of things is possibly a very direct and new and revolutionary way of discovering the soul of man- Dichter (14)
1. The objects we encounter broaden our view of life and what is possible; when we explore life in the context of objects we discover parts of ourselves- much like being introduced to a person who listens to a genre of music of which you have never been exposed and now you have an opportunity to discover a new aspect of yourself
Theories: to remedy the limitations that specific theories have, it is useful to use a number of different theories that enable you gain different perspectives (23)
1. the more you know, the more information you have and the more theories you have studied, the more you can see in things (21)
  1. again, like knowing a variety of people- the more perspectives you entertain, the more angles you can explore and the more knowledge you will gain
    1. Every point of view expands your own horizons- rather you agree or not
2. a theory is a way of seeing, an optic, that focuses on a specific subject matter (23)
  1. This book will expose its readers to myriad theories; however, be aware there are many more
3. interpretation is always an important part of any analyses we make (27)
  1. there are no facts, everything is in flux, incomprehensible, elusive; what is relatively most enduring is- our opinions (Nietzsche 1968 page 27)
    1. Do not be afraid to assert your opinions, even in a class of super-smart, rather good looking Ph.D. students
4. Rashomon problem what do we do when theorist from different disciplines disagree about how to interpret and artifact or object? (28)
  1. The trick is to avoid becoming an adherent to one theory and to entertain/study myriad theories and see which best reflect the society or resonate with the culture/researcher
Focus of the book- how is it that the stuff with which we surround ourselves and are so surrounded not only reflect but create the creation of identity?
Methods v methodology v theory
1. Actions
2. Philosophy
3. A way of seeing

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Wilhite: What Objects Mean: Chapter One: Making Sense of Material Culture

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