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The social life of materials : studies in materials and society / edited by Adam Drazin, Susanne Küchler.

Contributor(s): Publication details: London : Bloomsbury Academic, 2015.Description: xxviii, 301 pages : illustrations ; 24 cmContent type:
  • text
  • still image
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9781472592637
  • 9781472592644
Subject(s):
Contents:
Introduction To live in a materials world
On materials innovation What’s in a plant leaf? a case study of materials innovation in New Zealand
Pharmaceutical matters: The invention of informed materials
Toward designing new sensoaesthetic materials: The role of materials libraries
The science of sensory evaluation: An ethnographic critique
From substance to form Wild silk indigo wrappers of Dogon of Mali: An ethnography of materials efficacy and design
Fashioning plastic
Dressing God: Clothing as material of religious subjectivity in a Hindu group
The subversion of form by substance Introducing Fairtrade and Fairmined gold: An attempt to reconfigure the social identity of a substance
Subversive plasticity: Materials’ histories and cultural categories in the Philippines
Diamonds, machines and colours: Moving materials in ritual exchange
Ecologies of materials’ social lives Sustainability and the co-constitution of substances and subjects
The peony and the rose: Social change and fragrance marketing in China’s bath market
The woollen blanket and its imagined values: Material transformations of woollen blankets in contemporary art
Conclusion Materials: The story of use
Summary: Materials play a central role in society. Beyond the physical and chemical properties of materials, their cultural properties have often been overlooked in anthropological studies: finished products have been perceived as ‘social’ yet the materials which comprise them are considered ‘raw’ or natural’. The Social Life of Materials proposes a new perspective in this interdisciplinary field. Diverting attention from the consumption of objects, the book looks towards the properties of materials and how these exist through many transformations in a variety of cultural contexts.Human societies have always worked with materials. However, the customs and traditions surrounding this differ according to the place, the time and the material itself. Whether or not the material is man-made, materials are defined by social intervention. Today, these constitute one of the most exciting areas of global scientific research and innovation, harboring the potential to act as key vehicles of change in the world. But this ‘materials revolution’ has complex social implications. Smart materials are designed to anticipate our actions and needs, yet we are increasingly unable to apprehend the composite materials which comprise new products.Bringing together ethnographic studies of cultures from around the world, this collection explores the significance of materials by moving beyond questions of what may be created from them. Instead, the text argues that the materials themselves represent a shifting ground around which relationships, identities and powers are constantly formed and dissolved in the act of making and remaking.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction To live in a materials world

On materials innovation What’s in a plant leaf? a case study of materials innovation in New Zealand

Pharmaceutical matters: The invention of informed materials

Toward designing new sensoaesthetic materials: The role of materials libraries

The science of sensory evaluation: An ethnographic critique

From substance to form Wild silk indigo wrappers of Dogon of Mali: An ethnography of materials efficacy and design

Fashioning plastic

Dressing God: Clothing as material of religious subjectivity in a Hindu group

The subversion of form by substance Introducing Fairtrade and Fairmined gold: An attempt to reconfigure the social identity of a substance

Subversive plasticity: Materials’ histories and cultural categories in the Philippines

Diamonds, machines and colours: Moving materials in ritual exchange

Ecologies of materials’ social lives Sustainability and the co-constitution of substances and subjects

The peony and the rose: Social change and fragrance marketing in China’s bath market

The woollen blanket and its imagined values: Material transformations of woollen blankets in contemporary art

Conclusion Materials: The story of use

Materials play a central role in society. Beyond the physical and chemical properties of materials, their cultural properties have often been overlooked in anthropological studies: finished products have been perceived as ‘social’ yet the materials which comprise them are considered ‘raw’ or natural’. The Social Life of Materials proposes a new perspective in this interdisciplinary field. Diverting attention from the consumption of objects, the book looks towards the properties of materials and how these exist through many transformations in a variety of cultural contexts.Human societies have always worked with materials. However, the customs and traditions surrounding this differ according to the place, the time and the material itself. Whether or not the material is man-made, materials are defined by social intervention. Today, these constitute one of the most exciting areas of global scientific research and innovation, harboring the potential to act as key vehicles of change in the world. But this ‘materials revolution’ has complex social implications. Smart materials are designed to anticipate our actions and needs, yet we are increasingly unable to apprehend the composite materials which comprise new products.Bringing together ethnographic studies of cultures from around the world, this collection explores the significance of materials by moving beyond questions of what may be created from them. Instead, the text argues that the materials themselves represent a shifting ground around which relationships, identities and powers are constantly formed and dissolved in the act of making and remaking.