The course ‘anthropology of art and material culture’ introduces the student in the ways anthropologists have dealt with art, in particular the material expressions of art, and material culture. After a general introduction on how western philosophy has dealt with the material world, a historical overview will be given of anthropological studies about material objects. Ending with a critical analysis of the recent discussions on materiality. Then some special subjects will be presented, varying from a structuralist analysis of material culture to practice-oriented approaches, from rituals in New Guinea to shopping centres in Jakarta. The tutorials will concentrate on collecting and museums. Students are expected to finalised the course with a written paper.
Timetables
See timetable
Literature
The Material Culture Reader – ed. Victor Buchli, Berg Publishers, Oxford, New York 2002.
The Social Life of Things – Arjun Appadurai, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1986 (or the reprint).
Condensed Reality, A study of Material Culture – Pieter ter Keurs, CNWS Publications, Leiden, 2006. (now Amsterdam University Press)
Some articles related to the subjects treated in the tutorials.
Overview
The anthropology of art and material culture (10 ects)
12 lectures (each 2 hours) = 36 sbu
6 tutorials (each 2 hours) = 24 sbu
Literature (ca. 1000 pages) = 170 sbu
Written assignment of 6 pages = 48 sbu