Anthropology 281 - Modern Material Culture

What do Barbies, cars, clothes, dishes, or doughnuts, etc. have to do with culture? These, and a myriad other things, are all made and used by human beings and are objects of material culture. This class considers how humans create, consume, produce, use, and ultimately discard things in their everyday lives and the meanings we assign to these objects and behaviors. A self-reflexive position is embraced as we examine various ways in which material culture both signals identity and influences behavior. (E)