Post-Conference Thoughts on the Mid-America American Studies Association's 2011 Conference

A little over two weeks has passed since the conference ended, and after spending last week tying up loose ends (still not quite finished), I thought that it would be a good time to reflect and report on the event.  


This was the first time that the Material Culture Focus Group put on a large-scale conference, and I think that we did pretty well!.  Thirty-nine people gave lively and interesting talks, and all had a different spin on material culture.  It's always nice to see how different fields and universities interpret the term and practice(s) of material culture.  The modus operandi of the conference was a three-person panel, with a group discussion of all presentations afterward.

The "Imagined Materialities" panel: Prof. Mark Nelson, Benjamin Wiggins, and Rebecca Keyel.
Photo by Theresa Haffner-Stearns.

I was particularly struck by Maggie Ordon's discussion of material culture theory and methodology in combination with sustainability.  My definition of sustainability expanded during her talk, which addressed not only ecology, workers' health and pay, safe materials and production processes, BUT sustainability in the form  of scholarly writing, the relationships that we have with objects, alongside memory, but individual and collective.  These last few bring to light more circumstances of "re-use."  Material culture becomes a politically-engaged lens through which to address objects, and by addressing issues of production, consumption, re-use, and intellectual practice, material culture studies can become a form of respect for both objects and the cultures that interact with them.  


Our final group event was the Saturday evening dinner and closing address by Prof. Ann Smart Martin, who gave us a brief history of material culture studies, then synthesized the presentations given by a range of individuals, concluding that material culture studies has changed greatly with its inception, broadened by the discourse of globalization, the broadening of the definition of material culture, and the variety of concerns about which new scholars write.


On Sunday, a small group made its way to Fox Point, a suburb of Milwaukee, WI, to tour the Chipstone Collection.  Although a good deal of the collection is housed and exhibited at the Milwaukee Art Museum, there is still much to be seen at the Foundation;s headquarters.  Sarah Scarlett willingly and ably drove the eight-passenger van, something that I was too scared to do.

Chipstone HQ, Milwaukee, WI.  Photo by Theresa Haffner-Stearns.

Director Jon Prown and Hummel Fellow Kate Smith spoke with the group, giving a brief history of the foundation, while taking us from room to room, allowing us to casually ask questions about the plethora of ceramic objects and furniture in each room.  Independent news correspondent Gianofer Fields recorded our conversations.  

A good conference was put on, and thankfully went off without any major hitches.  Taking a poll of the conference organizers, the main lesson learned was that having a support network of people to help with tasks definitely kept the stress level down.  Conference organizing is always stressful, but being able to trust and rely on others make things a lot better.  And because of that, saying thank you to other is of utmost importance.

For more information about the event and to get a different perspective on it, check out Theresa Haffner-Stearns' blog posts here and here!  Thanks to Theresa for graciously allowing me to use some of her images.

Course of Interest: History of Science 921: Scientific Expeditions

For those of you who have an interest in the intersections of science and material culture, this course might be right up your alley:

History of Science 921: Scientific Expeditions

Fall 2011, Tuesdays 5:30-8:00pm, Bradley Memorial Building 204

Open to graduate students or by instructor consent.

Together with the laboratory, museum, specialized society, and scientific journal, the expedition is one of the central institutions of modern science.  One can hardly imagine the history of astronomy and geodesy without Maupertuis in Lapland, La Condamine in Peru, and the Venus transit observations reiterated throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries; botany and physical geography absent Linnaeus' peripatetic students, Cook and Bougainville in the South Seas, Ruiz and Pavón in South America, and Humboldt in his tours of the Americas and Russia; or the theory of natural selection without the voyages of the Beagle. 

At the same time, the history of organized scientific travel is also necessarily the history of cultural encounter, globalization, and colonialism, and so of networks, accumulation, circulation, translation, and transculturation.  Through close examination of historical case studies from the 18th through the 20th century, analysis of theoretical frameworks, and the exploration of digital resources, this seminar asks students to reassess the ways in which the history of scientific travel can inform our understanding of the scientific enterprise and its place in changing institutional, economic, and political relations across the globe.  

Instructors: Gregg Mitman and Florence Hsia

Summer and Fall 2011 Classes

Summer 2011 Material Culture Classes

AH 368: American Architecture: The 19^th Century (Menocal)

MTWR  4:00-5:15pm , L140 Conrad A. Elvehjem Building
Major architects and trends in American architecture from the Greek Revival to the Chicago School.

AH 449: Fieldschool in American Vernacular Architecture (Andrzejewski)

MTWR 9:00am-4:00pm, L166 Conrad A. Elvehjem Building

Assessment of how cultural phenomena help shape a given architectural development.  Location: Madison.

DS 501: 21st Century Design Solutions to Contemporary Issues (Gordon)

TWR 6:00-9:05pm, 159 Van Hise Hall, June 14-July 7

In an intensely concentrated but exciting month, we will examine developments in the design field that focus on creating solutions to contemporary cultural and environmental problems (e.g., overwhelming waste, toxicity, inequities from globalization).  The class will explore today’s pressing issues and examine ways that designers and engineers working from a variety of starting points (industrial/product design, textile design, architecture and interior design, landscape, virtual reality) are articulating problems, working together, and creatively reimagining cradle-to-cradle solutions. 

FOLK 639: Fieldschool: Ethnography of Wisconsin Festivals (Gilmore)

WRF 11:00am-3:15pm, 224 Ingraham Hall

 A review of key methodological and theoretical approaches for studying festivals, in situ observation of summer festivals and small town folk and ethnic museums, and supervised writing and photographic assignments.

Fall 2011 Material Culture Classes

AH/CLAS 330/700: The Art and Archaeology of Ancient Greece (Cahill)

TR 8:25-9:40am, L140 Conrad A. Elvehjem Building

Explores the art and archaeology of ancient Greece from the Bronze Age through the Hellenistic period.

AH/LCA 379: Cities of Asia (Chopra)

TR 1:00-2:15pm, 104 Van Hise Hall

Historical overview of the built environment of cities of Asia from antiquity to the present; architectural and urban legacy in its social and historical context; exploration of common themes that thread through the diverse geographical regions and cultures of Asia.

AH 463: American Suburbs (Andrezejewski)

MWF 12:05-12:55pm, L150 Conrad A. Elvehjem Building

This course examines the landscape and material culture of American suburbs, particularly of the twentieth century, for what it can tell us about suburban cultures in the United States. The class will include a historical examination of suburban architecture and landscapes from the nineteenth century through the present, but will also focus on topics related to suburbia that include considerations of race, class, gender and region, as well as how suburban life has been represented in print and visual culture. Students will work on research projects related to Madison area suburbs as well.

AH/DS/HIST 464: Dimensions of Material Culture (Andrzejewski and Gordon)

W 2:25-4:55pm, 1310 Sterling Hall

Approaches to the interdisciplinary study of the material world in order to analyze broader social and cultural issues. Guest speakers explore private and public objects and spaces from historic, ethnographic, and aesthetic perspectives.

AH 479: Art and History in Africa (Drewal)

MW 1:05-2:20pm, L150 Conrad A. Elvehjem Building

Selected African art traditions in their historical and cultural settings.

AH 563: Factory Craft: Art, Skill, and the Industrial Age  (Lasser)

R 2:00-4:00pm, L166 Conrad A. Elvehjem Building

This seminar investigates the changing relationship between art and industry.  How have artists responded to the factory and engaged with industrial production in their work?  How are artists today responding to our present post-industrial era?  What is the difference between studio skill and factory skill?  What separates the solitary labor of the mythical garreted artist from the collaborative labor of the assembly line  This course will assist in the development of a Milwaukee Art Museum exhibition.  In addition to historical issues, matters of curatorial practice will be addressed.

AH 579: Exhibiting Africa in a Museum (Drewal; Honors Seminar!)

M 6:00-8:00pm, L170 Conrad A. Elvehjem Building

No description available.

AH 805: Seminar-Ancient Art and Architecture (Cahill)

R 400-6:00pm, L166 Conrad A. Elvehjem Building

No description available.

AH865: US Modernism and the Culture of Things (Kroiz)

M 4:00-6:00pm, L166 Conrad A. Elvehjem Building

This seminar will introduce students to the burgeoning interdisciplinary field of “thing” theory to examine the relationships of objects, subjects and things. We will consider the materiality and agency of inanimate objects themselves, as well as the role of objects in establishing and mediating social relationships. In addition to our theoretical focus on things, we will also focus historically to consider U.S. modernism as a phenomenon formulated within a culture of proliferating consumer goods. We will draw on methodologies from art history and material culture studies, as well as literature studies, anthropology, and political science. We will also examine primary source materials from the turn of the nineteenth to the twentieth century.

ANTH 354: Archaeology of Wisconsin. (Schroeder; fulfills ethnic studies req.)

T 6:00-8:30pm, 6102 Sewell Social Sciences

Introduces students to the archaeological evidence for the diverse Native American cultures of Wisconsin over the past 12,000 years.

CLAS 430: Troy: Myth and Reality (Aylward)

TR 8:25-9:40am, 114 Van Hise Hall

Explores topics in the archaeology of ancient Greece and Rome, such as the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the archaeology of Greek and Roman religion, or Late Antique Palaces.

DS 430: History of Textiles  (Gordon)

TR 2:30-3:45pm, 1335 Sterling Hall

Designs and meanings and interrelationships of textiles in selected cultures and time periods.

DS 642: Taste (Chopra)

T 4:00-6:30pm, 399 Van Hise Hall

Exploration of the idea of taste - both "good" and "bad", in "popular" and "high" culture. Cross-cultural readings from theoretical and historical perspectives, relating to architecture, landscape, public space, art, and clothing.