Book chapter
"It's all about the Showbags": The ephemeral material culture of an Australian Agricultural Show
That Was Then, This Is Now: Contemporary Archaeology and Material Cultures in Australia, pp.31-61
Cambridge Scholars Publishing
2016
Abstract
That Was Then, This Is Now is a compendium of innovative research into the ideas, experiences, and iconographies embodied in materialities of the recent past. Drawing upon a variety of disciplines, including archaeology, history, art, and cultural geography, authors examine themes of relevance to the contemporary world, such as the impacts of automobility, the invisible effects of radioactivity, and the scale of future cities. It serves as a reminder, moreover, that issues that confront us as global citizens - mass consumption, population growth, technological development, and the conditions of belonging - find expression in the everyday objects, images and vestiges encountered in our ordinary lives. Through their examination of such artefacts as comic books, road memorials, bullet holes, showbags and cable ties, the authors explore the complex relations between people, places, and things and the emotions underpinning them - nostalgia, play, grief, and humour. Issues and ideas of international scope are addressed through a focused approach as authors locate their site-specific studies in both rural and urban geographies, as well as in the spaces of the imagination, the universe and even the personal home. Given the enormous scale and diversity of material generated by the practices of living in the present, it is difficult to imagine how the archaeologies and material cultures of the contemporary world may be defined. The studies presented here offer a way forward, and, in doing so, point reflexively to the past, as well as the now and the future of things to come. [Book Synopsis]
Details
- Title
- "It's all about the Showbags": The ephemeral material culture of an Australian Agricultural Show
- Authors
- Harriot Beazley (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Arts, Business and LawJoanne Scott (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Arts, Business and Law
- Contributors
- U Frederick (Editor)A Clarke (Editor)
- Publication details
- That Was Then, This Is Now: Contemporary Archaeology and Material Cultures in Australia, pp.31-61
- Publisher
- Cambridge Scholars Publishing
- Date published
- 2016
- ISBN
- 9781443885386
- Organisation Unit
- Indigenous and Transcultural Research Centre; School of Social Sciences - Legacy; University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; Office of the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Global & Engagement); School of Law and Society; Sustainability Research Cluster
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 99448976602621
- Output Type
- Book chapter
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