The Materiality of Social Power: The Artifact-Acquisition Perspective |
| |
Authors: | William H. Walker Michael Brian Schiffer |
| |
Affiliation: | (1) Department of Sociology and Anthropology, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM 80003, USA;(2) Department of Anthropology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA |
| |
Abstract: | This paper explores the materiality of social power relationally through study of social interactions with artifacts. Specifically, it is argued that acquisition of an artifact instantiates social power by imposing interactions on groups taking part in that artifact's life-history activities. We introduce the “performance-preference matrix,” an analytic tool for systematically studying the effects of such acquisition events on activity groups. The use of the performance-preference matrix is illustrated through an example: the acquisition of electric-arc lights for lighthouses in the 19th century. Suggestions are offered for analyzing culture-contact situations and for handling singularized artifacts such as heirlooms and monuments. |
| |
Keywords: | KeywordHeading" >: social power social theory material culture technology and society performance characteristics |
本文献已被 SpringerLink 等数据库收录! |
|