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In Defense of Things
Archaeology and the Ontology of Objects
Authors:
Publisher:
2010
Summary
In much recent thinking, social and cultural realms are thought of as existing prior to—or detached from—things, materiality, and landscape. It is often assumed, for example, that things are entirely 'constructed' by social or cultural perceptions and have no existence in and of themselves. Bjornar Olsen takes a different position. Drawing on a range of theories, especially phenomenology and actor-network-theory, Olsen claims that human life is fully mixed up with things and that humanity and human history emerge from such relationships. Things, moreover, possess unique qualities that are inherent in our cohabitation with them—qualities that help to facilitate existential security and memory of the past. This important work of archaeological theory challenges us to reconsider our ideas about the nature of things, past and present, demonstrating that objects themselves possess a dynamic presence that we must take into account if we are to understand the world we and they inhabit.
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Bibliographic data
Copyright year
2010
ISBN-Print
978-0-7591-1930-7
ISBN-Online
978-0-7591-1932-1
Publisher
Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham
Language
English
Pages
204
Product type
Book Titles
Table of contents
ChapterPages
Contents No access
List of Illustrations No access
Chapter 01. Introduction No access Pages 1 - 20
Chapter 02. Brothers in Arms?: Archaeology and Material Culture Studies No access Pages 21 - 38
Chapter 03. Material Culture as Text: Scenes from a Troubled Engagement No access Pages 39 - 62
Chapter 04. The Phenomenology of Things No access Pages 63 - 88
Chapter 05. Tacit Matter: The Silencing of Things No access Pages 89 - 106
Chapter 06. Temporality and Memory: How Things Remember No access Pages 107 - 128
Chapter 07. Living with Things: Matter in Place No access Pages 129 - 150
Chapter 08. In Defense of Things No access Pages 151 - 174
