Material Culture: A Research Guide. Questo articolo non è disponibile.Material Culture: A Research Guide

This collection of essays brings together six distinguished scholars to examine the progress, problems, and potential of material culture studies in America. From the perspective of their respective disciplines—cultural geography, vernacular architecture, American studies, the history of technology, the decorative arts, and folklife studies—these widely respected authorities survey the major material culture research of the past two decades and assess the most creative and innovative work-in-progress.

Thomas J. Schlereth's introductory chapter provides a critical analysis of material culture evidence, articulating the distinctive quality of such data and focusing on the problematic nature of doing research with objects rather than with written records. The chapters that follow, five of which originally appeared in 1983 in a special issue of American Quarterly, represent a succinct summary of those fields and subfields of material culture scholarship that are at the cutting edge of current research. The volume includes an expanded, up-to-date bibliography that will be of use to a wide range of scholars.

Today American material culture studies remains a field where the most innovative work is occurring at the local or regional level. The essays in this volume suggest, however, that such work will be part of the wider evidential base and broader interpretive strategy out of which a new synthesis may develop.

This collection of essays brings together six distinguished scholars in American studies; they examine the progress, problems, and potential of material culture research in America. From an interdisciplinary perspective--representing cultural geography, vernacular architecture, American studies, history of technology, deocrative arts, museum studies, and folklore--thse respected authorities survey the major material culture research and assess the most creative and innovative contemporary research. Thomas J. Schlereth's introductory chapter critically analyzes the value of material culture as a means of studying history through object rather than written documents. He concentrate on both the worth and the difficulties of "above-ground archaeology" as a historical research method. And the following chapters discuss the fields and subfields within material culture, summarize the present scholarly trends, and include current bibliographic information useful to a wide range of scholars.