TOPICS: THE CULTURAL LIFE OF OBJECTS in Spring 2022 (CM2091A)

In this course, we will unpack how we communicate with everyday objects and how they communicate through us. While we live in a world saturated with digital images and experiences, material objects remain central to how we create meanings and establish shared values. From consumer goods and household items to gifts and clothing and prized possessions, material objects of all kinds are the basis for how we communicate about identity, relationships, and cultural ties. The material environments we have created – everything from architecture to media infrastructures to toxic waste and even nature itself – reflect our social and cultural norms. We will begin by tracing the life of objects through phases of design, production, consumption, circulation and disposal, and then open up to the spaces and systems through which we organize meaning and value, including consumerism as well as ethical consumption movements. Finally, we will uncover the hard material realities behind the immaterial realm of digital images and experiences, asking: what are the consequences of a world full of stuff?