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Oct 17, 2024
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ARFA 857 - “Stuff”: What is it? Why DO We Buy It? Who Collects IT?3 credits
Among those who’ve attempted to explain the role of “stuff” in our lives are anthropologist, Mary Douglas and comedian,George Carlin. This course will explore how “stuff” makes us known not only to ourselves– self-portraits of sorts–but to others as well. We will look at the social life of “things” and the role they play in constructing identity, as repositories of memory, and how they create and sometimes disrupt relationships are some of the questions to be considered. With a look backward to the era when ground beef on a roll was simply a burger, we’ll move forward to not only its elevation into a notable foodscape but to a panoply of other objects, of everyday ‘things’ in this age of heightened branding and binging. This course will offer critical readings from several areas, including aesthetics, anthropology, memory and material studies. Representations of social media, the Internet, on-line auctions and shopping will be augmenting resources.
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