Material Culture of Our World - Essay Example

Material Culture-Object Material culture is associated mostly with the manufactured objects which hold a specific meaning in that culture; these objects become part of culture due to their utility and purpose, thus, establishing an identity for the years to come, i.e., tools, cars, clothing. Non-material culture on the other hand includes intangible and abstract attributes, i.e., beliefs, values, ideology, behaviour. From Anthropological point of view, Kroeber and Kluckhohn state (1952 cited in Baldwin, et al., 2006, p.188) Culture consist of patterns, explicit and implicit, of and for behaviour acquired and transmitted by symbols, constituting the distinctive achievements of human group, including their embodiments in artefacts (man made objects); the essential core of culture consists of traditional (i.e., historically derived and selected) ideas and especially their attached values; culture systems may, on the one hand, be considered as products of action, on the other as conditioning elements of further action. Material culture or objects are tangible evidence of social representation and an indication of intellectual engagement with the self and the environment; it forms social relationships and connections amongst societies. It also facilitates identity construction of self and society within the contexts of space and time.Henri Giroux (1988) stated; …Culture is also a form of production that helps human agents, thorough their use of language and other material resources, to transform society. In this case, culture is closely related to the dynamics of power and produces asymmetries in the ability of individuals and groups to define and achieve their goals (Cited in Baldwin, et al., 2006, p.188). Material culture refers to the psychological interpretation and meaning that all physical objects hold in the environment. Things have to mean something specific to people in a particular culture, they shape a distinctive identity which can nurture only in that socio-cultural setup. We understand the meaning of culture from objects of a special culture as people learn to form things as they perceive from their culture. Making of an object is in the consequences of certain behavioural patterns adopted by cultural influences. Archaeologist estimate and compare different aspects of culture by examining the material records like artefacts of cultures. Culture is also said to be “a product of meaningful activity like art and a product of representation and signification: artifacts, cultural “texts” mediated and otherwise, etc (Baldwin, et al., 2006, p.30).As a result of this cultural activity, there appears a meaningful act of producing goods, for example, tools, clothes, food and communication means. Defining culture often revolves around the artifacts of a society. Here, we are not concerned about the process of production but the artifact itself. Identity is a concept of ones perception about him/herself as an individual in context of community. It determines the social position of an individual by means of personality, physical attributes, social traits values and possessions. In social sciences, according to Woodward (2007), there are three aspects of identity; First is the social and objective identity, referring to a person’s belonging to various social groups, and the distinguishing socially relevant features of such belongings, for example like gender, social class or ethnicity; secondly self or subjective identity…traits and preferences, thirdly ego identity, referring to the feeling one has of knowing who they are and how they fit in giving the personal sense of stability… (p.134) Why objects are linked with social meaning and help in managing ones identity? How someone perceive an object to be a representation of who someone is? What help objects provide in establishing this psycho-social interpretation of image perception? According to Woodward (2007, p.134) objects can stand for other things and demonstrate social message to people and on the behalf of people or institutions. Goffman (cited in Woodward, 2007) differentiated, “the objects that allow for social confirmation of categorical status (a uniform) and objects that afford expressiveness, which he saw as reflecting a person’s life style, preferences or personal tastes-in effect what we could understand as their identity”. Uniform can be taken as functional object for identity while expressiveness through objects is related to the social negotiation of image. So far, our research has established that in today’s world, objects are significant in forming and deforming our social identities. We can recognise a person without interpersonal contact; his possessions will assist in identifying the status and level of performance. Objects suggest a credible assistance in identity projection. However, Colin Campbell (1996 cited in Woodward 2007) we should cautiously take it as identity of a person as for some people buying new cloths may associated with comfort or just being right for a particular task and it is difficult to assume the reason of a person’s buying certain objects and how it is perceived by others. It is difficult to interpret such process, especially when it is build across multiple time and space contexts. Identity reflects in material possessions and belongings as society give it a specific meaning. Belonging to a certain group is also associated with the possessions which a person hold, like in contemporary culture, one need to have a luxury car, home, life style, intellectual status established business in order to be a part of elite in society. In another view point, Pearce (1994) describe archaeology as the study of material culture which manifest the meaning and interpretations of social practices which are purposely and meaningfully structured. Objects in a culture are not direct window into the culture but there are many relationships and transformations involved, for example, parallelism, inversion, opposition, equivalence and linearity. Understanding material culture involves an in depth analysis of objects, meaning thereby, we have to learn about the relationship and context of things not merely things (70). Cultural studies of objects and something created or manufactured reveals the social structure, in a deeper sense we can identify emotions, meaning in human action, differences, injustice or division. Woodward stated objects (2007) to be sole player in establishing link between social and economic culture, for example, in consumer societies, massively produced objects are inculcated in cultural life and become part of behaviour. They may represent social status, inherent resemblance, occupation and other activities (p.4).Besides these sub cultural interpretations, objects may become part of broad value system or even institutions. For example, dowry has become a part of wedding in India. Material culture prevails in such societies after establishing a certain meaning in the social structure. Clothing is an obvious example of human and objects relation presented by a specific culture. Uses and meaning of clothing vary from culture to culture, thus, changing the identity and perceptions about it. It is not something haphazard rather it establishes and signifies social meaning which is brought about by objects after a continuous work on behalf of inhabitants. For example, clothing in conservative Hindu and Muslim culture is their identity. Another example is of gender based clothing which is can be identified in almost every culture. According to Buchli (2004) cloths have symbolic qualities which enhanced the relationship of society and politics over a period of time in different cultures, for example, like food offers, donation of cloth to temple deities in Hindu culture and in Muslim culture to the saints’ shrines which is redistributed among worshipers as sacred symbol. In addition to that whole suits of clothing were given to the gods in Hindu culture and Muslims present a plain white sheet to the holy tomb (p.67). From Bogatyrev (1971) to Wobst (1977) study of clothing (cited in Hodder, 1991) is more appropriate in anthropology of material culture; each and every attribute of the fabric including colour, size, shape and texture is considered as a code for conveying an information about origin, sex and other attributes of status to society(p.158). Styling and clothing depicts the person’s image and perception about himself in society. Affluent people project their sense of power through objects of branded clothing and other accessories; therefore, it conveys a clear message to everyone about individual, group or even national identity. The whole process initiates an understanding of identity as a group, tribe and class in society. For example, kimono is the identity of Japanese culture, whenever we see it anywhere in the world it construct the same meaning. Imagine, a man wearing a necktie with formal dress, what he is trying to communicate? Obviously, he wants to project the image of a professional in formal environment or his belonging to some high class. Kaori O’ Connor (cited in Kuchler & Miller, 2005) states, Once viewed simply as mere artefacts, it is now recognised that cloths and clothing are culturally constructed commodities with complex symbolic properties, transmitting purity and pollution, linking past and present, transforming through belief, carrying fundamental values…clothing materialised social and political statuses, convey and consolidate identity, meditate social relations and not only reflect social change but also create it, acting as Schneider (1994) shows as an agent of history by giving cultural form to innovate dynamic moments(p.41). We can observe that clothing is used as a tangible evidence for the projection of identities; from rich and poor, literate and non literate, cultured and none cultured, religious and conservative to liberal and modern societies and groups. It also reflects the limits of social relationship between different societies and indicates their intellectual and social linkages. For example, there would be a strict following of dress code in conservative society and larger part will dress up in the same manner like Arabs. We are living in the material world now and from the time immemorial. Whether it is the agricultural village life or urban corporate life, people reflect their identities through particular material culture and practices through objects. Finally, these objects reflect and project the identity of that culture by giving it a specific meaning which is attributed only to that culture. References Buchli, V., 2004. Material culture: critical concepts in the social sciences, London: Taylor & Francis. Baldwin, J.R. Faulkner, S.L., Hecht, M.L. & Lindsley, and S.L., 2006. Redefining culture: perspectives across disciplines, USA: Routledge. Hodder, I., 1991. The Meanings of Things: Material Culture and Symbolic Expression, Oxon: Routledge. Kuchler, S., Miller, D., 2005. Clothing as material culture, UK: BERG. Pearce, M.S., 1994. Interpreting objects and collections, London: Routledge. Woodward, I., 2007. Understanding Material Culture, London: SAGE. Read More