Objects in Motion Cambridge University
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- Historia
Objects in Motion brings together scholars, curators and artists from around the world to dialogue about material objects in transition - cultural, temporal and geographical.
All material objects are produced within specific contexts – whether they are ancient Roman tombstones, century-old Inuit clothing, or modern video games. How are differences in use and meaning negotiated when these objects transition into other contexts? What continuities remain, and what is reinterpreted and refashioned? How does this affect the meanings and knowledge embodied in, or found with, such objects?
The subjects discussed will range in time from antiquity to the present day, and in geography across different continents. The individual disciplines encompassed include history, history of science and medicine, anthropology, social anthropology, archaeology, ethnology, art and performance, history of art, geography, digital humanities, museums, and cultural heritage.
This breadth of speakers and topics will facilitate a fruitful exploration of material culture dynamics which are central to the human experience even in an era of multinational corporations, global communication, and increasing standardisation. It will also foster discussion of the different disciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches to studying and communicating about these themes.
Image courtesy of williambeem.com from Flickr Creative Commons
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Simon Schaffer - Soft Matter and Mobile Objects
Simon Schaffer (University of Cambridge)
Soft matter and mobile objects -
Rachel Hand - Polity in Motion: 18th Century Musical Instruments and the Regalia of Tonga’s Sacred Chief
Rachel Hand (Cambridge Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology)
Co-authors Billie Lythberg, Wonu Veys, Hūfanga ‘Okusitino Māhina & Semisi Fetokai Potauaine
Polity in motion: 18th century musical instruments and the regalia of Tonga’s sacred chief -
Christina Williamson - Movement and Meaning in a Century-Old Inuit Parka
Christina Williamson (Carleton University Ottawa)
Movement and Meaning in a Century-Old Inuit Parka -
Katharina Nordhofen - More Than a Frame: Strategies of Appropriation of Byzantine Ivories on Ottonian Book Covers
Katharina Nordhofen (University of Vienna)
More than a frame: strategies of appropriation of Byzantine ivories on Ottonian book covers -
Petra Tjitske Kalshoven - Animal Artefacts: Categorical Trespassing by the Curiously Lifelike
Petra Tjitske Kalshoven (University of Manchester)
Animal artefacts: categorical trespassing by the curiously lifelike -
Willemijn van Noord - An Ancient Mirror in Motion: From China Through Siberia to the Netherlands and Back (c. 100 BCE - 1700 CE)
Willemijn van Noord (University of Amsterdam)
An ancient mirror in motion: from China through Siberia to the Netherlands and back (c. 100 BCE - 1700 CE)