JOURNAL OF MATERIAL CULTURE
Scope & Guideline
Charting New Territories in Arts and Humanities Research
Introduction
Aims and Scopes
- Material Agency:
Explores how objects influence human behavior and social interactions, emphasizing the active role of materiality in shaping cultural practices. - Cultural Memory and Identity:
Investigates the relationship between objects and memory, identity formation, and the ways that material culture can signify personal and collective narratives. - Temporal and Spatial Dynamics of Objects:
Examines how objects change meaning over time and across spaces, including their roles in various socio-political contexts and historical narratives. - Affective Materiality:
Focuses on the emotional and sensory experiences associated with objects, exploring how material culture can evoke feelings and memories. - Sustainability and Ethics in Material Culture:
Analyzes the implications of material practices in terms of sustainability, ethical consumption, and the socio-political impacts of material choices. - Transdisciplinary Approaches to Material Culture:
Encourages collaboration across disciplines to better understand the complex relationships between materials, culture, and societal structures.
Trending and Emerging
- Impact of Digital Media on Material Culture:
An increasing number of studies explore how digital technologies influence material practices, such as online communities shaping the meanings of objects and digital representations of cultural heritage. - Material Culture in Conflict and Post-Conflict Contexts:
There is a growing focus on how material culture is implicated in narratives of conflict, trauma, and healing, especially in relation to displaced communities and the aftermath of violence. - Gender and Materiality:
Research examining the intersections of gender and material culture is gaining traction, addressing how gender identities and roles are expressed and negotiated through objects. - Environmental Sustainability and Material Practices:
Emerging themes highlight the relationship between material culture and environmental issues, particularly how sustainable practices can reshape consumer habits and cultural values. - Affective and Sensory Engagement with Objects:
An increasing emphasis on the emotional and sensory experiences associated with objects signifies a trend toward understanding materiality through the lens of affect theory.
Declining or Waning
- Traditional Ethnographic Studies:
Papers that strictly adhere to traditional ethnographic methodologies are becoming less prevalent, as the journal increasingly embraces innovative and interdisciplinary approaches. - Static Representations of Material Culture:
There appears to be a waning interest in studies that treat material culture as fixed or unchanging, with a growing preference for dynamic interpretations that account for the fluidity of meaning. - Overly Theoretical Discussions:
The journal has shifted focus away from highly abstract theoretical discussions about material culture, favoring empirical case studies that provide concrete examples and applications.
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