131-464 Secret Life of Things: Material Culture

This is a 'theory and method' subject.

Usually admission to the postgraduate diploma or fourth year honours in history.

What role have objects, artefacts and places played in the shaping of Australian culture? Are we 'prisoners of objects'? This subject engages critical approaches to objects as 'emissaries of culture'. Excursions into the everyday world of objects, many of which we take for granted, stress the importance of things as sources of evidence unavailable in written texts or documents. Through addressing the importance and meaning of everyday things, insights will be gained into technology, consumer society, gender, popular culture, ethnic identity, and the built environment. Through discussions of making, losing, exchanging, inventing, collecting, desiring, inheriting, eating and recycling things, students will learn to interpret objects in their historical context.

• show an advanced understanding of the changing knowledge base in the specialist area;

• be able to evaluate and synthesise the research and professional literature in the discipline;

• have an appreciation of the design, conduct and reporting of original research.

A research essay proposal of 300 words 10% (due mid-semester), a group project of 1000 words 20% (due mid-semester) and a research essay of 3700 words 70% (due at the end of semester).

A subject reader will be available.