Register
Register here for the annual meeting and to begin or renew an ASA membership
Register here to submit a proposal through the ASA's 2013 submission site. (Closed)
Access your ASA membership account at JHU Press including online access to American Quarterly and the Encyclopedia of American Studies Online. Forgot your membership account passwordCreate an account to join an ASA community. Only current ASA members may contribute to the community blogs. Registration is not required to submit display or text ads or news and events or to view many pages. We will refuse posts that are not of professional interest to ASA members.
Click here for membership FAQ's
Group Members
The following people are members of this group:
The following people are administrators of this group:
Member Tools
We're sorry. You are not yet a member of the Material Culture Caucus.
Register or login to join this group.
Main | ARTIFACT e-list | Contact | Contact Members
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
American Studies in 20 Objects Project
Colleagues in American Studies and material culture,
Born in Nashville in 1994, the Caucus will be 20 at the ASA meeting in Los Angeles in 2014. To prepare for this birthday celebration, we’re launching an “American Studies in 20 objects project,” and I’m writing to solicit your object nomination.
The project was suggested by Shirley Wajda and is inspired by the British Museum’s “A History of the World in 100 Objects” http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/a_history_of_the_world.aspx), which has prompted the New York Times’s “A History of New York in 50 Objects” (http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/09/02/nyregion/a-history-of-new-york-in-50-objects.html).
Minutes, Business Meeting. Material Culture Caucus
Friday 16 November 2012
5:00-6:00 pm
Puerto Rico Convention Center 201B
Participants
Debby Andrews
Ben Bascom
David Brody
Simon Bronner
Sarah Ann Carter
Clarissa Ceglio
Courtney Fullilove
Susan Garfinkel
David Jaffee
Rebecca Onion
Syllabus Exchange: American Material Culture Studies
The Material Culture Caucus of the American Studies Association invites you to share with colleagues far and wide your undergraduate and graduate course syllabi on any aspect of American Material Culture Studies.
In years past the Caucus has printed and distributed paperback copies of the syllabus exchange. We will now be providing public access to the exchange on the Web.
Syllabi should contain your name, institution, and the full course title. Please delete internal logistical information (office hours,attendance, policies, plagiarism, etc.)
The documents, in PDF format, should be emailed to
Deborah C. Andrews
Director
Center for Material Culture Studies
University of Delaware
Email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Please also forward this request to colleagues!
Call for Speakers Symposium: Reaching and Teaching Through Material Culture
On September 28-29, 2012, a symposium at Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library will mark the 60th anniversary of Winterthur/University of Delaware graduate education. Speakers are not limited to Winterthur graduates and
will address the following topics:
* What to Collect & How to Maintain: Availability, Acquisition,Responsibility
* Technology and Accessing Collections
* Balancing Intellectual Relevance with Popular Interest
* The Role of Cultural Heritage Professionals in World Events.
The symposium will present subjects relevant to material culture and conservation. Speakers may be alumni of the Winterthur Program in American
Material Culture, the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation (est. 1974), and from other institutions and programs.
The symposium structure will explore the topics through five-minute lightening rounds, twenty- to thirty-minute presentations, and discussion
with speaker panels. Please review the more detailed information on each topic in the complete Call at http://www.sowf.org/symposium2012.html.
Scholars and independent consultants, museum and allied professionals, and conservators are invited to submit a 100- to 200-word abstract for their proposed topic. Proposals are due February 27th for review by the Winterthur Fellows board; announcements will be made by March 19th. Please send abstracts via email to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). For general information about
the symposium, please visit http://www.sowf.org/symposium2012.
http://www.sowf.org/symposium2012>.
In addition, to highlight a broad spectrum of accomplishments in the
related fields, a silent “slide show” will present relevant institutional
and individual projects either underway or completed. All are invited to
apply by providing one digital image of yourself or your
institution/project/publication, etc., with up to five bullet points
outlining the goals/successes. Topics can relate to various aspects of
cultural management, including fundraising, institutional expansion, actual
or virtual exhibitions and public programs, art conservation, advocacy,
publication, and more. Please send submissions to the contact information
above by August 3rd, 2012.
Thank you,
Society of Winterthur Fellows Board
The symposium is sponsored by the Society of Winterthur Fellows
Rosemary T. Krill
Academic Programs
Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library
E-mail: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
winterthur.org
TEXTS AND TEXTILES
A conference organised by the Centre for Material Texts to be held 11-12 September 2012 at Jesus College, Cambridge
Page 1 of 6 pages 1 2 3 > Last »
Quick Links
American Quarterly [official journal site]
American Quarterly [editorial site]
Encyclopedia of American Studies
Encyclopedia of American Studies [editorial site]