Introduction
We are surrounded by objects throughout our lives. Man-made objects, from the smallest ones, like toothbrushes and chewing gums, to the more significant, like buildings and roads, with everything that lies in-between – clothing, food, tools, money, furniture – virtually everything humans do finds its reflection in the form of some object or objects. They permeate our lives to such a degree that we stop noticing it like we do not notice our most basic activities. These objects, or material culture, however, can tell a lot about people who created and used them, from their capabilities and technical prowess to their tastes, beliefs and worldview.
Thus, studies of material culture focus on multiple points of view, ranging from historical and archaeological to cultural and social, among others. There is a considerable amount of works which comment upon the former two fields, with the emerging trend of viewing material culture in connection to the latter two. Among such works is Understanding Material Culture by Ian Woodward. The point of his work is showing the connection between material culture the society produces and uses and the cultural background which can be traced from it. As the author himself puts it, “It is not just a matter of individuals pondering what objects might mean, but individuals reading objects in relation to other individuals within complex intergroup networks patterned by social status and role, and space-time contexts.” (Woodward 4). Thus, the book is valuable primarily for providing the cultural context for perceiving material culture as both a result and an extension of social and cultural background.
Main body
Understanding Material Culture is an extension of Woodward’s earlier work on the narrative presented by material culture. The book aims at expanding this topic and at the same time generalizing the information on material culture. The author achieves this mainly by providing definitions, adding information on such topics as theoretical approaches to studying material culture, as well as some historical insights. In other words, he provides all the necessary information needed to obtain a grasp on the topic he is expanding upon, namely, the narrative aspect of material culture. Such structure makes Understanding Material Culture a valuable textbook. It does not cover the topic of material culture in its entirety (if that is even possible for a single textbook) but presents a good overview of its social and cultural aspects. Such aspects as archaeological and ethnographic studies are absent entirely or only briefly mentioned, which, while hampering the objectivity, allows for a more thorough examination of topics the author is interested in.
The book is divided into three distinct parts, with each consisting of two to three chapters. The first part is introductory, and consists of two chapters. The first chapter defines the terms and principles required for understanding the topic and demonstrates several case studies which help us understand the most commonly used methods. The second chapter gives a historical insight into the interdisciplinary origin of the question. The second part outlines the most common theoretical approaches to the study of material objects. It comprises three chapters, each of which deals with a distinct approach to the topic in question. Chapter three focuses on the critical approach to material culture, providing the Marxist arguments of linking objects to commodities and the subsequent comments of other proponents of this approach, like Lukács and Fromm.
Chapter four examines the structural and semiotic approach of Saussure and subsequent research by LĂ©vi-Strauss, who approach the object as having the symbolic meaning. This meaning is unseen to people until properly decoded. According to LĂ©vi-Strauss and Barthes, “material objects do not exist just to serve straightforward, utilitarian purposes. In fact, the more important, symbolic role of objects is to allow humans to construct and assign meanings within their cultural universe” (Woodward 67). Chapter five highlights “cultural” approach which does not fall in the previous chapter’s semiotic category. This view is mainly presented by work of Emile Durkheim, among others. According to this approach, all objects have social meaning and make visible categories of culture(Woodward 95). It should be noted, that while chapter three has a section devoted to presenting popular criticism of Marxist school of thought, chapter five lacks proper comment upon Durkheim’s approach. It is not balanced by any anti-Durkheimian perspective such as Latour, who is completely absent (Miller par. 2).
Finally, the third part introduces author’s perspective on the question. Chapter six is a generalized introduction to the aesthetic value of objects, backed up by works of Kant subsequent additions to it by Bourdieu. This chapter also contains the observations of fashion and taste by Simmel. Chapter seven ponders upon the role of objects in establishing and expressing personal identity. Using the D.W. Winnicott’s idea of a transitional object, Woodward shows how objects are used both to project personal feelings and to incorporate the object’s projection into the self. This chapter serves as a transition between the ideas introduced in previous chapters and adding author’s original findings. Chapter eight is composed almost entirely of Woodward’s original work, making a smooth transition from the psychological perspective described in the previous chapter to the narrative perspective of the material objects. The last part summarizes the work and highlight its main strong and weak points.
With all this in mind, we may call this book a meta-analysis, which uses the established ideas and theories of other authors to provide a background for Woodward to make his point. Woodward states the same, saying “The main thrust of this work is to examine, compare, and evaluate the major ways of approaching objects within social and cultural theory, and within various domains of everyday practice” (Woodward 171). However, some scholars, like Daniel Miller, point to the fact that while the book does the summary of established ideas quite well, the final part, which introduces author’s ideas, should be perceived as the promotion of author’s ideas rather than the objective common knowledge: “As it happens I don’t much agree with the arguments, or find them that persuasive, but that’s just one person’s opinion. I would still welcome them as an original and different approach.” (Miller par. 4).
As we can see, the book uses the methods of qualitative research and case study, relying mostly on the established theories to build the basis for the original research, and providing the excerpts from Woodward’s interviews with subjects. The theoretical part is supplied with examples, both from the works of other researchers and from the original research by the author. It should be noted, however, that these examples, despite being featured throughout the text, are not always illustrative enough. This diminishes the book’s overall value as a textbook and makes it less easily approachable, should it be used as a textbook to get the general idea (as it was in my case), rather than to get hold of author’s argument.
Besides, Woodward’s original study has a rather limited scope, dealing mostly with two respondents and relying on assumptions rather than established facts. This possibly leads to biased work, and the author readily admits it (Woodward 172). The book’s structure is clear, with key points properly highlighted. All the ideas come from respectable sources and are properly referenced. The book also uses a rather straight-and-to-the-point tone, characteristic of proper scientific work. While some sections (examples, for the most part) are rather vivid and witty, the work is a little bit on the dry side, which hampers the comprehension, when used as means of obtaining general knowledge.
I have initially selected Understanding Material Culture because I was seeking to improve my understanding of the social and cultural side of the topic of material culture. This aspect is often less approachable than the historical and archaeological aspects, most firmly associated with the topic. The book has certainly broadened my scope of the sociological aspect of the role of the objects. It is a valuable anthology of thought on the sociological and cultural side of the topic. It sums up all the existing schools of thought really well, often presenting the ideas in their dynamic development, outlining both initial assumptions and later developments of all the mentioned approaches. The author’s research, however, was a little hard to comprehend. The conclusions he makes seem a little bit unsupported, presenting a mix of the ideas already mentioned and his own assumptions with little bridging between them. This criticism only applies to the book as introducing something new and does not diminish its educational value. There are some flaws, however, which apply to the general objectivity.
First, more attention should be paid to presenting criticism to all of the featured schools. As already mentioned above, such criticism is appropriately featured in some chapters while being notably absent from another. Second, more effort should have been invested into examples that represent certain ideas. While the examples are supplied in sufficient quantity, they can be vague or hard to follow. As the book deals with the narrative and semiotic approaches, which are not intuitive or easy to grasp, it could benefit from supplying more approachable examples. The author also uses his research materials to illustrate and support some of his ideas. These, also, are not always particularly helpful, often serving as the basis for author’s assumptions rather than clarifying the matter. It looks like the book could benefit from being more comprehensive for all students, not just specialists on the semiotic approach. The use of a limited number of subjects also deserves mentioning, as it leads to the work being less objective.
The author, however, addresses this issue specifically, explaining it with the preliminary nature of his research (Woodward 172). Some scholars also point out the narrow scope of the book. Notably, Simon Bronner comments extensively on the complete absence of folkloristic angle on the question. He points out that while the book supports the recent findings of folklorists and even reflects some of them, it fails to credit the field and particular works (Bronner par. 5). This criticism, however, matters little in terms of work’s accuracy, dealing more with academic integrity. It also deserves mentioning that other scholars, like the anthropologist David Miller, while pointing to some inconsistencies, actually recommends the book over others as a textbook of choice, praising it for “covering long standing debates and discussions, but also as an entry point to a particular perspective” (Miller par. 4).
Conclusion
Taking all of the mentioned issues into account, I can conclude that the book is an excellent, albeit not flawless, example of a comprehensive textbook, which also incorporates some new ideas. These ideas have proven to be the most difficult part for me, but as my initial goal was getting a comprehensive overview, I can say it was achieved. In the end, I would go as far as say the authors ideas, while not changing my perception of the topic, certainly enhanced it both by adding the new angle and introducing me to the narrative approach. Understanding Material Culture was not an effortless read, but it has proved to be worth the effort. I would go as far as recommend this book for students dealing with material culture. I can see two ways in which this work can be beneficial. As material culture is an interdisciplinary field, the book can be of help for students of different fields, like history, anthropology, archaeology or social studies who, like me, will seek to get a grasp of the general picture. In some cases, it can supply them with ideas on the new directions for research. This is especially relevant for students in the field of sociology, consumer behaviour studies, studies dealing with design and fashion, and those who study communication and narrative paradigms.
Works Cited
Bronner, Simon. Understanding Material Culture. 2008. Web.
Miller, Daniel. Understanding Material Culture, Ian Woodward, 2007. 2008. Web.
Woodward, Ian. Understanding Material Culture, Los Angeles, California: Sage Publications, 2007. Print.