This course is not currently offered, please contact the school.

Course description

This course will enable you to explore histories of the material world. You will investigate material objects as primary sources of historical analysis, and explore groundbreaking work on the history of objects, places and environments. The topics covered will include histories of everyday and sacred objects, histories of dress and textiles, histories of food, histories of natural resources and waste, histories of the built environment, and histories of craft and design. Your major assessment involves investigating an aspect of material culture and its environment from an historical perspective. This will allow you to extend the skills of historical research, storytelling and analysis that you have developed in your degree so far. The course prompts you to consider the relationship of history to museum and cultural studies, heritage studies, archaeology, the anthropology of material culture and the 'environmental humanities'.

Archived offerings