Artifacts from Modern America / Helen Sheumaker.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Sheumaker, Helen, author.

Series:

Daily Life through Artifacts.

Daily Life through Artifacts

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

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

Popular culture.

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

Material culture.

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

United States.

United States--Civilization--1918-1945.

United States--Civilization--1945-.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xxxii, 347 pages) : illustrations.

Edition:

1st ed.

Distribution:

New York : Bloomsbury Publishing (US), 2023.

Place of Publication:

Westport, CT : Greenwood, 2017.

System Details:

text file HTML

Summary:

This intriguing book examines how material objects of the 20th century-ranging from articles of clothing to tools and weapons, communication devices, and toys and games-reflect dominant ideas and testify to the ways social change happens. 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:

Preface Acknowledgments Introduction How to Evaluate Artifacts Chronology of Events COMMUNICATIONS Brownie Holiday Camera Eversharp Screw Cap Fountain Pen Princess Telephone Sony TR-610 Portable Radio TRS-80 Personal Computer Typewriter COOKING, FOOD, AND DRINK Bob's Big Boy Cellophane Coffee Percolator Kelvinator Microwave Radarange Telescoping Shopping Cart ENTERTAINMENT Atari 2600 Video Game Console and Packaging Popular Paperbacks Portable Gramophone Superman Comic Book GROOMING, CLOTHING, AND ACCESSORIES Drene Shampoo Lorna Doone Patched Blue Jeans Max Factor Lipstick Nike Running Shoes Schick Electric Razor Variation Maidenform Brassiere HEALTH AND MEDICINE Antibiotics Penicillin Sample Craven "A" Ashtray Custer Electric Wheelchair Enovid Birth Control Pill HOUSEHOLD ITEMS Air Conditioner Hoover Vacuum Cleaner Moonshine Still Refrigerator POLITICAL AND CIVIC LIFE Environmental Movement Buttons Gay Pride Button General Motors TDH-3610 Diesel Bus Instructional Voting Machine Votes for Women Literature Bag RELIGION The Bible Story Commemorative Ribbon Muhammad Ali Robes TOOLS AND WEAPONS Children's Gas Masks, World War I Electric Chair First Fordson Tractor Gun/Police Revolver TRANSPORTATION Boeing 367-80 "Dash 80" Airplane Gas Ration Card, World War II Ken Kesey's Merry Prankster Bus Orbiter Pullman Railroad Car Schwinn Starlet Bicycle Trav-L-Coach House Trailer Selected Bibliography Index

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9798400614811

9798216049784

9781440846830

1440846839

OCLC:

1004376533