Hybrid WorkshopAnthropology of the ObjectDec. 7 – 8, 2023
7 December 2023
Photo: © MET
Universität Hamburg, Edmund-Siemers-Allee 1, AS-Saal, 20146 Hamburg.
How can objects reveal processes of cultural and social change in the Early Islamic period? Any ‘object’, in the broadest possible meaning, is the material result of complex entangled social, economic, and even transcultural processes that lead to its creation, use, and disposal. Disentangling these, or in a way retro-engineering these processes, can shed light on the agency of craftsmen, consumers, patrons, and users, and thus also on its larger social embeddedness. The ‘object’ would not exist without a culture of professional training, a legal system, labor laws, monetary exchanges, transport infrastructure, or simply the prevailing taste. In order to unravel the ‘object’ as a historical source, it needs contextualization with a wide assortment of literary sources, and scholarly methods.
The workshop is organized along two axes.The first centers on ‘object biographies’,tracing the life story of objects from their inception on. The second axis stresses the social embeddedness of objects, of what they reveal to us regarding the individual agents in these processes, and how their life cycles are influenced by religious, legal, and economic patterns.
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