Critical Craft: Technology, Globalization, and Capitalism - Hardcover

 
9781472594860: Critical Craft: Technology, Globalization, and Capitalism
Hardcover
ISBN 10: 147259486X ISBN 13: 9781472594860
Publisher: Routledge, 2016

Synopsis

From Oaxacan wood carvings to dessert kitchens in provincial France, Critical Craft presents thirteen ethnographies which examine what defines and makes ‘craft’ in a wide variety of practices from around the world. Challenging the conventional understanding of craft as a survival, a revival, or something that resists capitalism, the book turns instead to the designers, DIY enthusiasts, traditional artisans, and technical programmers who consider their labor to be craft, in order to comprehend how they make sense of it. The authors’ ethnographic studies focus on the individuals and communities who claim a practice as their own, bypassing the question of craft survival to ask how and why activities termed craft are mobilized and reproduced. Moving beyond regional studies of heritage artisanship, the authors suggest that ideas of craft are by definition part of a larger cosmopolitan dialogue of power and identity. By paying careful attention to these sometimes conflicting voices, this collection shows that there is great flexibility in terms of which activities are labelled ‘craft’. In fact, there are many related ideas of craft and these shape distinct engagements with materials, people, and the economy. Case studies from countries including Mexico, Nigeria, India, Taiwan, the Philippines, and France draw together evidence based on linguistics, microsociology, and participant observation to explore the shifting terrain on which those engaged in craft are operating. What emerges is a fascinating picture which shows how claims about craft are an integral part of contemporary global change.

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

About the Author

Clare M. Wilkinson-Weber is Associate Professor of Anthropology at Washington State University Vancouver, USA.Alicia Ory DeNicola is Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Oxford College of Emory University, USA.

From the Back Cover

From Oaxacan wood carvings to dessert kitchens in provincial France, Critical Craft presents thirteen ethnographies which examine what defines and makes 'craft' in a wide variety of practices from around the world.

Challenging the conventional understanding of craft as a survival, a revival, or something that resists capitalism, the book turns instead to the designers, DIY enthusiasts, traditional artisans, and technical programmers who consider their labor to be craft, in order to comprehend how they make sense of it. The authors' ethnographic studies focus on the individuals and communities who claim a practice as their own, bypassing the question of craft survival to ask how and why activities termed craft are mobilized and reproduced. Moving beyond regional studies of heritage artisanship, the authors suggest that ideas of craft are by definition part of a larger cosmopolitan dialogue of power and identity. By paying careful attention to these sometimes conflicting voices, this collection shows that there is great flexibility in terms of which activities are labelled 'craft'. In fact, there are many related ideas of craft and these shape distinct engagements with materials, people, and the economy.

Case studies from countries including Mexico, Nigeria, India, Taiwan, the Philippines, and France draw together evidence based on linguistics, microsociology, and participant observation to explore the shifting terrain on which those engaged in craft are operating. What emerges is a fascinating picture which shows how claims about craft are an integral part of contemporary global change.

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

Publisher
Routledge
Publication date
2016
Language
English
ISBN 10 
147259486X
ISBN 13 
9781472594860
Binding
Hardcover
Edition number
1
Number of pages
320
Editor
Wilkinson-Weber Clare M., DeNicola Alicia Ory

Other Popular Editions of the Same Title

9781472594853: Critical Craft

Featured Edition

ISBN 10:  1472594851 ISBN 13:  9781472594853
Publisher: Routledge, 2016
Softcover