Henare, A. J. M., Holbraad, M., & Wastell, S. (2007). Thinking through things: Theorising artefacts ethnographically. London: Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group.
Project: Comps - materiality
Keywords: anthropology, things, materiality, culture, meaning making
Format: Book
Abstract: "Drawing upon the work of some of the most influential theorists in the field, Thinking Through Things demonstrates the quiet revolution growing in anthropology and its related disciplines, shifting its philosophical foundations. The first text to offer a direct and provocative challenge to disciplinary fragmentation - arguing for the futility of segregating the study of artefacts and society - this collection expands on the concerns about the place of objects and materiality in analytical strategies, and the obligation of ethnographers to question their assumptions and approaches."
Key points: Presents a new method/framework for understanding the relationships between people and things. Suggests that anthropologists could benefit from looking at objects as collections of traits in the eyes of their users, while attempting to whole-heartedly engage with the realities experienced by the users of the objects.
Key concepts: the mental/physical divide, different realities for different individuals, sameness of things and concepts, the ontological turn
Entities: anthropologists; prisoners; nomads; scientists; artists; scholars; objects
Date this entry was written: 21/January/2013
Project: Comps - materiality
Keywords: anthropology, things, materiality, culture, meaning making
Format: Book
Abstract: "Drawing upon the work of some of the most influential theorists in the field, Thinking Through Things demonstrates the quiet revolution growing in anthropology and its related disciplines, shifting its philosophical foundations. The first text to offer a direct and provocative challenge to disciplinary fragmentation - arguing for the futility of segregating the study of artefacts and society - this collection expands on the concerns about the place of objects and materiality in analytical strategies, and the obligation of ethnographers to question their assumptions and approaches."
Key points: Presents a new method/framework for understanding the relationships between people and things. Suggests that anthropologists could benefit from looking at objects as collections of traits in the eyes of their users, while attempting to whole-heartedly engage with the realities experienced by the users of the objects.
Key concepts: the mental/physical divide, different realities for different individuals, sameness of things and concepts, the ontological turn
Entities: anthropologists; prisoners; nomads; scientists; artists; scholars; objects
Date this entry was written: 21/January/2013