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Material Culture Caucus
The Material Culture Caucus is an interest-based gathering of scholars within the American Studies Association (ASA), the professional organization for American Studies in the United States. Formed in 1994, the caucus seeks to promote the place of material culture studies both within the larger context of American history and culture, and the specific activities of the ASA.
The Material Culture Caucus sponsors a growing range of activities designed to create an ongoing forum for members of the material culture community. We work to address and promote the common interests of scholars and students through a variety of initiatives, which presently include:
- Annual business meeting during the conference of the ASA (usually held in early November of each year). Since 1994 members of the caucus have gathered at each conference to plan the activities of the group for the coming year. Participation in the caucus is open to any interested member of the ASA. A steering committee works to carry out the goals of the caucus on an ongoing basis.
- Annual reception during the conference of the ASA. The reception, which is jointly sponsored with the Art History/Visual Culture caucus, presents an informal opportunity for interaction and collegiality among members of the caucus.
- Organizational advocacy. The Material Culture Caucus solicits and sponsors sessions relating to American material culture studies for inclusion in the program of the annual ASA conference. Likewise, the caucus seeks to promote an awareness of material culture through occasional columns in the ASA newsletter, with a presence on this Web site, and by maintaining ties with the ASA leadership.
- Educational and scholarly resources. Material culture study is still a specialized (though growing) field, and more and more scholars in related disciplines are making use of material cultural resources in their teaching and research. The caucus works to provide high-quality resources at a range of levels, to promote not only the use of material cultural resources, but a high level of scholarship in the area. To this end, the caucus sponsors:
- A moderated email discussion list, at the address artifact@listserv.umd.edu—please subscribe!
- A growing World Wide Web site that includes bibliographies, examples, and teaching guides http://www.otal.umd.edu/amst/artifact/index.html
The Material Culture Caucus is still an evolving intiative, and we would be delighted to hear your comments and suggestions. Please join!
Community Blog
Material Culture Caucus Business Meeting 2009
We meet this year on Thursday, November 5, 5:00-6:00 p.m., Renaissance DC Hotel Meeting Room 8. The agenda is posted here:
Reception at Hillwood Nov. 7
Please join the staff of Hillwood Museum, curator and ASA member Estella Chung, the Material Culture Caucus, and ASA colleagues for an open house and reception at Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens (http://www.hillwoodmuseum.org/) on Saturday, November 7. Open house from 2 p.m. onward; reception 4:30-6:30; presentation 4:30. Tickets may be purchased through the ASA’s online registration system (even if you have already registered for the conference) or, space permitting, on site at the conference through Friday November 6.
Call for Papers: Things in Common: Fostering Material Culture Ped
The guest editors of this special issue of Winterthur Portfolio invite essays that engage object-based teaching and interpretation strategies in a variety of sites, including the secondary and college classroom, the museum gallery, the collection, the historic site, the national park, the archaeological dig, the library, the archive, and the World Wide Web.
Significant Objects Project
At significantobjects.com a series of authors purchase thrift shop items, compose back stories for the items, and post them for sale on eBay (along with a printout of the story).
According to the curators:
“[S]ignificance” is such a hazy concept… [we] agreed that it would be both interesting and fun to set up an experiment in which significance was artificially cooked up under controlled conditions and applied to insignificant objects.
So far the authors have found some pretty funky objects! While we might not all agree that significance is a “hazy” concept, or that thrift shop items (read “ordinary” or “everyday”) are not significant, this exercise surely foregrounds the process of recontextualization of cultural artifacts over time.
Call For Action: Fund Museums in the Stimulus Bill
AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF MUSEUMS
ACT NOW Museum Advocacy Update
Amendment Excluding Museums Passes Senate, 73-24
Tell Congress About Your Museum’s Economic Impact!
During Senate consideration of the economic recovery legislation today, an amendment was passed prohibiting funds from going to museums, zoos, and aquariums. The amendment, offered by Sen. Tom Coburn (S. Amdt. No. 309), states, “None of the amounts appropriated or otherwise made available by this Act may be used for any casino or other gambling establishment, aquariums, zoo, golf course, swimming pool, stadium, community park, museum, theater, art center and highway beautification project. “
The amendment was adopted on a 73-24 vote.
Differences between the House and Senate versions of the economic stimulus legislation will have to be resolved in a House-Senate conference committee before the bill is submitted to the President.
“Congress needs to be reminded that museums are a vital part of our economy,” said AAM President Ford W. Bell. “It’s time for us to make our case and I am calling on all museums to send their Members of Congress an Economic Impact Statement showing the ways in which their museum contributes to the economy.”
Most Members of Congress do not realize that museums employ more than a quarter-million Americans, spend an estimated $14.5 billion annually, and rank among the top three family vacation destinations. Let them know about the local impact your museum has by contacting your U.S. Senators and Representative today!
Visit http://www.speakupformuseums.org for more information about AAM’s advocacy for museums.
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