93246 - Anthropology of Material Culture (1)

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course, students will have acquired the necessary knowledge and tools to investigate, within the Italian and international debate, the notion of material and immaterial culture, with the aim of singling out its characteristics and the various research approaches. Students will be formed to carry out fieldwork research in its applied aspects in the domain of collecting, producing and using objects, and their forms of consumption and enhancement in the communities, organizations, institutions and museums. They will acquire a basis to continue relevant training at higher educational levels. In oral communication, they will have a good ability to read and critically understand the assigned bibliography in relation to the topics covered in the course and be able to use the specific terminology of the discipline.

Course contents

Course start date: September 16, 2026

Class schedule:

Wednesday, 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM – Aula C, Via Zamboni 34

Thursday, 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM – Aula VI, Via Zamboni 38

Friday, 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM – Aula 2, Via Zamboni 33

The study of material culture is an interdisciplinary field of analysis and research that explores the relationship between people and objects, with the aim of understanding how human beings produce, exchange, and consume material goods—ultimately contributing to the construction of societies and human relationships.

This course offers an in-depth look at the main research, theories, and methods that support the study of material culture in contemporary societies. It highlights how objects follow a specific “career” or life cycle, pass through different regimes of value, function as socio-technical and symbolic devices, and play an active role in the social construction of reality and in defining relationships between “human” and “non-human” subjects. The course thus seeks to explore the nature and centrality of materiality in processes of meaning-making within specific social contexts, and in shaping what it means to be human.

The course will cover the following topics:

Week 1 – Material Culture in the Twentieth Century: Exotic cultures, folk cultures, and the history of material culture studies.

Week 2 – Museum Anthropology: Museum ethnography, exhibition practices, and heritage-making processes.

Week 3 – Anthropology of Art: Objects, aesthetics, and cultural systems of artistic production and interpretation.

Week 4 – Material Culture and Everyday Worlds: Industry, consumption, mass production, and the ethnography of design.

Week 5 – Contemporary Material Culture: Global circulation of objects, sustainability, reuse, and new directions in material culture research.

Readings/Bibliography

Attending and non-attending students – 3 required books:

1. Appadurai, A. (a cura di) (2021), La vita sociale delle cose. Una prospettiva culturale sulle merci di scambio, Milano: Meltemi. Or, alternatively: Tiberini E. (2003) La vita nelle mani, Roma: CISU.

2. Miller, D., Lo smartphone globale. Non solo una tecnologia per giovani, UCL Press. (Disponibile online: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10139782/1/Lo_Smartphone_Globale.pdf ). Or, alternatively: Santacana Mestre J., Llonch Molina N., (2023) Fare storia con gli oggetti. Metodi e percorsi didattici per bambini e adolescenti, Roma: Carocci.

3. Kohn, E. (2021), Come pensano le foreste. Antropologia oltre l'umano, Milano: Nottetempo. Or, alternatively: Albert B. e Kopenawa D. (2023) Lo spirito della foresta, Milano: Nottetempo.

 

Recommended (optional) readings:

• Bonetti, R. e Simonicca, A. (a cura di) (2016), Etnografia e processi di patrimonializzazione, Roma: CISU.

• Broccolini, A. e Padiglione, V. (a cura di) (2017), Ripensare i margini. L'Ecomuseo Casilino per la periferia di Roma, Roma: Aracne.

• Ciabarri, L. (a cura di) (2018), Cultura materiale. Oggetti, immaginari, desideri in viaggio tra mondi, Milano: Raffaello Cortina Editore.

• Dei, F. (2003), Beethoven e le mondine. Ripensare la cultura popolare, Milano: Meltemi. (Reperibile in PDF in quanto esaurito. Scrivere alla docente.)

• Dei, F. e Meloni, P. (2015), Antropologia della cultura materiale, Roma: Carocci.

• Edwards, E., Gosden, C., Phillips, R.B. (2006), Sensible Objects. Colonialism, Museums and Material Culture, Oxford–New York: Berg.

• Gell, A. (2021), Arte e Agency, Milano: Raffaello Cortina Editore.

• Harrison R. (2020), Il patrimonio culturale. Un approccio critico, Milano: Pearson.

• Ingold, T. (2019), Making. Antropologia, archeologia, arte e architettura, Milano: Raffaello Cortina Editore.

• Luniddi, M. (2019), Etnografia dei tombaroli della Tuscia, Roma: Europa Edizioni.

• Miller, D. (2013), Per un'antropologia delle cose, Milano: Ledizioni.

• Myers, F. R. (2002), Painting Culture: The Making of an Aboriginal High Art, Duke University Press.

• Paini, A. e Aria, M. (2014), La densità delle cose. Oggetti ambasciatori tra Oceania e Europa, Pisa: Pacini.

• Satta, G. (2013), “Patrimonio culturale”, Parole Chiave, 49, numero monografico, pp. 1–18.

• Schneider, A. e Wright, C. (a cura di) (2010), Between Art and Anthropology: Contemporary Ethnographic Practice, Bloomsbury Academic.

• Stocking, G. W. Jr. (2000), Gli oggetti e gli altri. Saggi sui musei e sulla cultura materiale, Roma: Ei Editori.

• Thomas, N. (1991), Entangled Objects: Exchange, Material Culture, and Colonialism in the Pacific, Harvard University Press.

• Tilley, C. (2006), Handbook of Material Culture, London: SAGE. 

     

Teaching methods

Various teaching methods will be adopted in order to meet the range of educational needs and the diverse expectations of students attending the course. The course will be organized in a seminar format and will include readings, film screenings, and discussion sessions. Active student participation is required, particularly in the discussion of selected parts of the texts assigned for the exam.

Attending students, individually or in groups, will agree with the instructor on a paper in the field of the anthropology of material culture. The paper will be presented and discussed orally in a final session, possibly with the support of digital media.

Assessment methods

A student is considered an attending student if they participate in at least 75% of the classes.

Based on the assigned bibliography, the theoretical and methodological lectures, and the contributions that emerge through participatory and seminar-style activities, the student will take an individual oral exam to assess their learning. The evaluation will take into account the student's consistent engagement throughout all phases of the learning process. Active participation in class sessions and activities will also be considered and will contribute to the final grade.

The following aspects will be specifically evaluated:
– theoretical and methodological understanding of the core concepts provided through participatory and/or frontal teaching;
– acquisition of the theoretical content presented in the assigned readings;
– development of critical thinking and the ability to observe, describe, and analyze the topics covered;
– achievement of an integrated understanding of the course content, combined with its critical application and interpretation.

Expressive proficiency and the appropriate use of disciplinary terminology will be rewarded with the highest marks. Oral examinations will take place during the official examination sessions scheduled at the end of the course. No fewer than six examination sessions will be offered during the academic year, in accordance with the University’s official academic calendar.

The examination is designed to assess both students’ knowledge of the specific topics covered in the course and their ability to critically engage with the themes and readings discussed in class. Overall, students are expected to demonstrate the ability to communicate the knowledge they have acquired using clear and appropriate academic language.

To pass the examination, students must obtain a minimum grade of 18/30. To achieve the highest mark (30/30 cum laude), students must demonstrate an excellent knowledge of all the topics covered and the ability to connect them in a logical, critical, and coherent manner.

Attending students will be required to complete a group project, to be presented in seminar format during the final weeks of the course. Each group will be assigned an ethnographic case study to analyze in light of the methodological guidelines provided during the lessons.

For non-attending students, no supplementary activities are provided. Since they do not participate in lectures and course activities, preparation of the required reading list will require a greater degree of independent study and will therefore constitute the sole form of assessment.

Important: No specific prior knowledge is required; however, some familiarity with the fields of anthropology (particularly socio-cultural or demo-ethno-anthropological disciplines) and basic anthropological terminology is recommended.

Teaching tools

Attending students, from September 2026, are kindly invited to subscribe to the following mailing list in order to receive information about possible variations in lecture timetable and rooms:

roberta.bonetti3.culturamateriale

Students with learning disorders and\or temporary or permanent disabilities: please, contact the office responsible (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students) as soon as possible so that they can propose acceptable adjustments. The request for adaptation must be submitted in advance (15 days before the exam date) to the lecturer, who will assess the appropriateness of the adjustments, taking into account the teaching objectives.

Office hours

See the website of Roberta Bonetti