Artifacts from modern America / Helen Sheumaker.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Sheumaker, Helen, author.

Series:

Daily life through artifacts

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Material culture.

History.

United States--Social life and customs--20th century.

United States.

Manners and customs.

Material culture--United States--History--20th century.

United States--Civilization--1945-.

Civilization.

United States--Civilization--1918-1945.

Popular culture--United States--History--20th century.

Popular culture.

Genre:

History.

Physical Description:

xxxii, 347 pages ; 29 cm.

Place of Publication:

Santa Barbara, California : Greenwood, an imprint of ABC-CLIO, LLC, [2018]

Summary:

Objects of everyday life tell stories about the ways everyday Americans lived. Some are private or personal things--such as Maidenform brassiere or a pair of patched blue jeans. Some are public by definition, such as the bus Rosa Parks boarded and refused to move back for a white passenger. Some material things or inventions reflect the ways public policy affected the lives of Americans, such as the Enovid birth control pill. An invention like the electric wheelchair benefited both the private and public spheres: it eased the lives of physically disabled individuals, and it played a role in assisting those with disabilities to campaign successfully for broader civil rights. Artifacts from Modern America demonstrates how dozens of the material objects, items, technologies, or inventions of the 20th century serve as a window into a period of history. After an introductory discussion of how to approach material culture--the world of things--to better understand the American past, essays describe objects from the previous century that made a wide-ranging or long-lasting impact. The chapters reflect the ways that communication devices, objects of religious life, household appliances, vehicles, and tools and weapons changed the lives of everyday Americans. Readers will learn how to use material culture in their own research through the book's detailed examples of how interpreting the historical, cultural, and social context of objects can provide a better understanding of the 20th-century experience.

Contents:

How to evaluate artifacts

Chronology of events

Part I. Communications

Brownie Camera

Eversharp Fountain Pen

Princess Telephone

Remington Typewriter

Sony TR-610 Radio

TRS-80 Computer

Part II. Cooking, food, and drink

Bob's Big Boy

Cellophane

Coffee percolator

Kelvinator Microwave Radarange

Telescoping shopping cart

Part III. Entertainment

Atari 2600 Video Game Console

Ian Fleming paperback

Portable Gramophone

Superman Comic Book

Part IV. Grooming, clothing, and accessories

Drene Shampoo

Lorna Doone patched blue jeans

Maidenform Bra

Max Factor Lipstick

Nike Waffle Trainer

Schick Electric Razor

Part V. Health and medicine

Antibiotics Penicillin Sampel

Art Deco ashtray

Custer Electric Wheelchair

Enovid Birth Control Pill

Part VI. Household items

Air conditioner

Hoover Vacuum Cleaner

Moonshine still

Refrigerator

Part Vii. Political and civic life

Environmental movement buttons

Gay pride button

Instructional voting machine

Let Women Vote literature bag

Rosa Parks bus

Part VIII. Religion

Muhammad Ali robes

National Workmen's Jewish rights ribbon

The Bible story

Part IX. Tools and weapons

Electric chair

Fordson Tractor

Police revolver

World War I children's gas mask

Part X. Transportation

Trav-l-Coach House Trailer

Boeing 367 Dash 80 Airplane

Gas ration card

Ken Kesey's Merry Prankster Bus

Lunar Orbiter

Pullman Car

Schwinn Starlet Bicycle.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Online version: Sheumaker, Helen. Artifacts from modern America.

ISBN:

9781440846823

1440846820

OCLC:

987796659