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Entangled Objects: Exchange, Material Culture, and Colonialism in the Pacific - Softcover

Thomas, Nicholas

 
9780674257313: Entangled Objects: Exchange, Material Culture, and Colonialism in the Pacific
Softcover
ISBN 10: 0674257316 ISBN 13: 9780674257313
Publisher: Harvard University Press, 1991

Synopsis

Drawing on his work on contemporary postcolonial Pacific societies, Nicholas Thomas takes up three issues central to anthropology: the cultural and political dynamics of colonial encounters, the nature of Western and non-Western transactions (such as the gift and the commodity), and the significance of material objects in social life. Along the way, he raises doubts about any simple "us / them" dichotomy between Westerners and Pacific Islanders, challenging the preoccupation of anthropology with cultural difference by stressing the shared history of colonial entanglement. Thomas integrates general issues into a historical discussion of the uses Pacific Islanders and Europeans have made of each other's material artifacts. He explores how 19th-century and 20th-century islanders, and visitors from the time of the Cook voyages up to the 1990s have fashioned identities for themselves and each other by appropriating and exchanging goods. Previous writers have explored museums and the tribal art market, but this book concentrates on the distinct interests of European collectors and the islanders. It should be of interest to all those working in the fields of cultural studies, from history

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

Synopsis

Drawing on his work on contemporary postcolonial Pacific societies, Nicholas Thomas takes up three issues central to anthropology: the cultural and political dynamics of colonial encounters, the nature of Western and non-Western transactions (such as the gift and the commodity), and the significance of material objects in social life. Along the way, he raises doubts about any simple "us / them" dichotomy between Westerners and Pacific Islanders, challenging the preoccupation of anthropology with cultural difference by stressing the shared history of colonial entanglement. Thomas integrates general issues into a historical discussion of the uses Pacific Islanders and Europeans have made of each other's material artifacts. He explores how 19th-century and 20th-century islanders, and visitors from the time of the Cook voyages up to the 1990s have fashioned identities for themselves and each other by appropriating and exchanging goods. Previous writers have explored museums and the tribal art market, but this book concentrates on the distinct interests of European collectors and the islanders. It should be of interest to all those working in the fields of cultural studies, from history

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

Publisher
Harvard University Press
Publication date
1991
Language
English
ISBN 10 
0674257316
ISBN 13 
9780674257313
Binding
Paperback
Edition number
1
Number of pages
276