Acts of Possession: Collecting in America - Hardcover
The success of internet auction sites like eBay and the cult status of public television's Antiques Roadshow attest to the continued popularity of collecting in American culture. Acts of Possession investigates the ways cultural meanings of collections have evolved and yet remained surprisingly unchanged throughout American history.
Drawing upon the body of theoretical work on collecting and focusing on individual as opposed to museum collections, the contributors investigate how, what, and why Americans have collected and explore the inherent meanings behind systems of organization and display. Essays consider the meanings of Thomas Jefferson's Indian Hall at Monticello; the pedagogical theories behind nineteenth-century children's curiosity cabinets; collections of Native American artifacts; and the ability of the owners of doll houses to construct meaning within the context of traditional ideals of domesticity.
The authors also consider some darker aspects of collecting-hoarding, fetishism, and compulsive behavior-scrutinizing collections of racist memorabilia and fascist propaganda. The final essay posits the serial killer as a collector, an investigation into the dangerous objectification of humans themselves.
By bringing fresh, interdisciplinary critical perspectives to bear on these questions, Dilworth and her coauthors weave a fascinating cultural history of collecting in America.
Drawing upon the body of theoretical work on collecting and focusing on individual as opposed to museum collections, the contributors investigate how, what, and why Americans have collected and explore the inherent meanings behind systems of organization and display. Essays consider the meanings of Thomas Jefferson's Indian Hall at Monticello; the pedagogical theories behind nineteenth-century children's curiosity cabinets; collections of Native American artifacts; and the ability of the owners of doll houses to construct meaning within the context of traditional ideals of domesticity.
The authors also consider some darker aspects of collecting-hoarding, fetishism, and compulsive behavior-scrutinizing collections of racist memorabilia and fascist propaganda. The final essay posits the serial killer as a collector, an investigation into the dangerous objectification of humans themselves.
By bringing fresh, interdisciplinary critical perspectives to bear on these questions, Dilworth and her coauthors weave a fascinating cultural history of collecting in America.
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About the Author:
Leah Dilworth is an associate professor of English at Long Island University's Brooklyn campus and the author of Imagining Indians in the Southwest: Persistent Visions of a Primitive Past.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherRutgers University Press
- Publication date2003
- ISBN 10 081353271X
- ISBN 13 9780813532714
- BindingHardcover
- Number of pages312
- EditorDilworth Leah
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Acts of Possession: Collecting in America
Published by
Rutgers Univ Pr, New Brunswick
(2003)
ISBN 10: 081353271X
ISBN 13: 9780813532714
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Hardcover
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Book Description Hardcover. Condition: New. No Jacket. First Edition. A new copy of the first hard cover edition, lacking the dust-jacket. The text is of course wholly unmarked, pristine, and the cloth binding is bright and fresh in appearance. A brilliant copy. Seller Inventory # 005149
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