{"product_id":"materiality-paperback","title":"Materiality - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eDaniel Miller\u003c\/b\u003e (Editor)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThroughout history and across social and cultural contexts, most systems of belief--whether religious or secular--have ascribed wisdom to those who see reality as that which transcends the merely material. Yet, as the studies collected here show, the immaterial is not easily separated from the material. Humans are defined, to an extraordinary degree, by their expressions of immaterial ideals through material forms. The essays in \u003ci\u003eMateriality\u003c\/i\u003e explore varied manifestations of materiality from ancient times to the present. In assessing the fundamental role of materiality in shaping humanity, they signal the need to decenter the social within social anthropology in order to make room for the material. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eConsidering topics as diverse as theology, technology, finance, and art, the contributors--most of whom are anthropologists--examine the many different ways in which materiality has been understood and the consequences of these differences. Their case studies show that the latest forms of financial trading instruments can be compared with the oldest ideals of ancient Egypt, that the promise of software can be compared with an age-old desire for an unmediated relationship to divinity. Whether focusing on the theology of Islamic banking, Australian Aboriginal art, derivatives trading in Japan, or textiles that respond directly to their environment, each essay adds depth and nuance to the project that \u003ci\u003eMateriality \u003c\/i\u003eadvances: a profound acknowledgment and rethinking of one of the basic properties of being human.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eContributors.\u003c\/i\u003e Matthew Engelke, Webb Keane, Susanne K chler, Bill Maurer, Lynn Meskell, Daniel Miller, Hirokazu Miyazaki, Fred Myers, Christopher Pinney, Michael Rowlands, Nigel Thrift\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eBack Jacket\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis is first-class scholarship: lively, consequential, engaging, informed, and lucid. Daniel Miller and his colleagues explore--with imagination, ethnographic insight, and remarkable clarity--a range of related issues central to current debates within and beyond cultural anthropology.--Donald Brenneis, University of California, Santa Cruz\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDaniel Miller is Professor of Anthropology at University College London. He is the author of many books, including \u003ci\u003eThe Sari\u003c\/i\u003e (with Mukulika Banerjee); \u003ci\u003eCapitalism: An Ethnographic Approach\u003c\/i\u003e; \u003ci\u003eA Theory of Shopping\u003c\/i\u003e; and \u003ci\u003eThe Internet: An Ethnographic Approach\u003c\/i\u003e (with Don Slater). He is the editor, most recently, of \u003ci\u003eHome Possessions: Material Culture behind Closed Doors\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eCar Cultures\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 304\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.76 x 9 x 6.26 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eIllustrated:\u003c\/strong\u003e Yes\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e July 18, 2005\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42130226774151,"sku":"9780822335429","price":56.63,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0601\/2623\/2711\/files\/aab5586af998c1835cae4d15b2a738fb.webp?v=1732609371","url":"https:\/\/booksby.splitshops.com\/products\/materiality-paperback","provider":"Books by splitShops","version":"1.0","type":"link"}