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9780415200332

The Material Life of Human Beings: Artifacts, Behavior and Communication

by
  • ISBN13:

    9780415200332

  • ISBN10:

    0415200334

  • Edition: 1st
  • Format: Nonspecific Binding
  • Copyright: 1999-05-14
  • Publisher: Routledge

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Summary

In this ground-breaking work, the distinguished anthropological theorist, Michael Schiffer, presents a profound challenge to the social sciences. Through a broad range of examples, he demonstrates how theories of behavior and communication have too often ignored the fundamental importance of objects in human life. InThe Material Life of Human Beings, the author builds upon the premise that the most important feature of human life is not symbolic language but the incessant and diverse transactions that take place between people and myriad artifacts. The author shows that artifacts are involved in al modes of human communication--be they visual, auditory or tactile. By creatively folding elements of postmodernist thought into a scientific framework, he creates new concepts and models for understanding and analyzing communication and behavior. Challenging established theories within the social sciences, the author offers a reassessment of the centrality ofmaterialityto everyday life.

Table of Contents

Preface ix
Acknowledgments xiii
Introduction
1(10)
The nature of human existence
1(4)
Material-culture studies
5(1)
An archaeological perspective
6(3)
A preview
9(2)
What is human behavior?
11(19)
Introduction
11(1)
Interactors in the material medium
12(1)
Interaction modes
13(3)
Performance and performance characteristics
16(4)
Analytic units
20(3)
Interactors and activities revisited
23(4)
Defining human behavior
27(1)
Summary
28(2)
Artifacts and ``interpersonal'' communication
30(21)
Introduction
30(1)
Communication modes and performance modes
31(2)
Visual performance
33(12)

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