Contents
Acknowledgements v
Preface vi
PART I LOCATING MATERIAL CULTURE 1
1 The Material as Culture.
Definitions, Perspectives, Approaches 3
2 Studying Material Culture. Origins and Premises 17
PART II THEORETICAL APPROACHES TO STUDYING
MATERIAL CULTURE 33
3 The Deceptive, Suspicious Object.
Marxist and Critical Approaches 35
4 The Object as Symbolic Code. Structural and
Semiotic Approaches 57
5 The Material Representing the Cultural Universe.
Objects, Symbols and Cultural Categories 84
PART III OBJECTS IN ACTION 111
6 Objects and Distinction. The Aesthetic Field and
Expressive Materiality 113
7 Material Culture and Identity. Objects and the Self 133
8 Material Culture, Narratives and Social Performance.
Objects in Contexts 151
PART IV CONCLUSION 169
9 Conclusion: Objects and Meaning in Consumer Culture 171
References 177
Index 185