Module Content 

This course introduces different aspects of material and visual culture, all of which will be elaborated in later courses during the next two years. All the lectures will focus on the relationship between people and ‘things’. Starting with a general introduction, this will be followed by lectures covering the object, the museum, the artwork and the image. This is followed in Term 2 by lectures on landscape & the built environment, consumption & fashion, digital & infrastructure, and techniques & technology. The course will be both theoretical and practical. One week will be made up of two, one-hour lectures and a two-hour tutorial; the following week has a two-hour lab session for which you must conduct a small piece of practical fieldwork: It is crucial that you prepare for both your tutorials (by reading the compulsory articles) and lab sessions (by undertaking the fieldwork) during the intermittent period.

Learning Outcomes 

To enable students to understand the key principles of material culture studies and its position within the field of anthropology

To enable students to understand the relationship between theory and practice, literature and fieldwork within anthropology

To enable students to explore the reflexive relationship between subjects and objects and the way in which humans make things as much as things make humans

To enable students to have a broad understanding of the different branches of material culture studies

To enable students to evaluate and interpret anthropological materials in order to develop lines of argument and make sound judgments in accordance with basic theories and concepts of material culture studies.

To enable students to explore “other ways of telling”, undertaking assessments reliant on both traditional essay writing as well as more experimental techniques

Delivery Method 

The course will be taught in two-week blocks. The first week will be made up of two, one-hour lectures and a two-hour tutorial; the following week has only a two-hour lab session. It is crucial that you prepare for these tutorials and lab sessions in the intermittent period.