W. David Kingery was a materials scientist who became a historian of technology, and his work invites us to see the world differently. He argued that we are surrounded by evidence of the past, not just in books and documents, but in the very stuff of our lives: our clothes, our homes, our tools. For Kingery, every object tells a story. A ceramic pot, for example, can reveal information about ancient trade routes, technologies of production, and cultural beliefs about food and ritual. By learning to "read" these objects, we can gain a richer and more nuanced understanding of the past and the present.
This lesson is about learning to see technology not as a separate, autonomous force, but as an integral part of human culture. The devices we create are not just functional tools; they are expressions of our values, our beliefs, and our aspirations. They are, in short, a form of material culture. By applying the methods of material culture studies to the study of technology, we can begin to understand how our devices shape us, even as we shape them. This is a central theme of the DEVICES framework, which emphasizes the ways in which our instrumentsâmaterial, conceptual, and ritualâmediate our experience and construct our reality.
Kingery's work challenges us to move beyond a purely instrumental view of technology and to recognize its profound cultural significance. It encourages us to ask critical questions about the objects we create and use. Who benefits from this technology? What values are embedded in its design? How does it change our relationship to the world and to each other? These are not easy questions, but they are essential for anyone who wants to be a thoughtful and responsible citizen in a technologically complex world. This lesson will provide you with the conceptual tools to begin answering them.
Learning Objectives
- Define material culture and its relationship to technology.
- Analyze how cultural values are embedded in the design and use of technological objects.
- Apply the concept of "reading" objects to understand their cultural significance.
Key Concepts
Material Culture
Material culture refers to the physical objects, resources, and spaces that people use to define their culture. In the context of the DEVICES framework, these are the material artifacts that mediate our experience of the world. W. David Kingery, a pioneer in materials science and the history of technology, argued that we can "read" these objects to understand the beliefs, values, and practices of the people who made and used them. Technology is not a separate category from culture; it is an integral part of it. The tools we create, from the simplest hand axe to the most complex smartphone, are imbued with cultural meaning and reflect the societies that produced them.
Understanding technology as material culture means recognizing that our devices are not neutral. They are shaped by cultural priorities, economic forces, and social structures. For example, the design of a kitchen reflects cultural ideas about family, gender roles, and hospitality. The layout of a city reveals a society's values regarding community, privacy, and commerce. By studying the material world, we can gain a deeper understanding of the often-invisible cultural codes that shape our lives and our technologies.
Technological Somnambulism
Langdon Winner coined the term "technological somnambulism" to describe the tendency of modern society to sleepwalk through the process of technological change, without fully considering its social and political consequences. We often adopt new technologies without critically examining how they might alter our relationships, our institutions, and our values. This is particularly relevant to the DEVICES framework, which encourages us to become more conscious of the ways our devices construct our reality. Kingery's work provides a method for waking up from this somnambulism by teaching us how to read the cultural language of objects.
By treating technological artifacts as texts, we can begin to deconstruct the assumptions and ideologies embedded within them. This critical perspective allows us to move beyond a purely functional understanding of technology and to see it as a form of cultural expression. It encourages us to ask not just "What does it do?" but also "What does it mean?" This shift in perspective is essential for anyone who wants to be a thoughtful and engaged participant in a technologically mediated world.
Reading Objects
"Reading" objects is the practice of analyzing material artifacts to uncover their cultural significance. This involves paying close attention to an object's form, materials, and context of use. Just as a literary critic analyzes a text to understand its themes and structure, a material culture scholar examines an object to understand the cultural work it performs. For Kingery, this was a way of doing history from things, of giving voice to the often-unseen artisans and users of technology.
In the context of the DEVICES framework, reading objects is a fundamental skill. It allows us to see how our devices are not just tools, but also instruments that shape our perceptions and experiences. By learning to read the objects around us, we can become more attuned to the subtle ways in which our reality is constructed. This practice can be applied to anything from a coffee cup to a social media platform, revealing the hidden cultural logics that govern our interactions with the world.
Assignment
Read the introduction and a chapter of your choice from W. David Kingery's edited volume, *Learning from Things: Method and Theory of Material Culture Studies*. As you read, consider how the authors make the case for studying objects. How does this approach differ from traditional historical methods that focus on texts? What can we learn from things that we cannot learn from written documents?
Read: Learning from Things: Method and Theory of Material Culture Studies Knowledge Check
Reflect on the key topics in this lesson.
1
What does it mean to say that technology is a part of material culture?
Hint: Think about how objects reflect the values and beliefs of the society that created them.
2
How can the practice of "reading" objects help us to overcome technological somnambulism?
Hint: Consider the difference between a functional and a cultural understanding of technology.
3
Choose an everyday object and try to "read" it. What does its design, material, and use tell you about the culture that produced it?
Hint: There is no right or wrong answer here. The goal is to practice the skill of material culture analysis.
Additional Resources
Supplementary materials for deeper exploration.
History from Things: Essays on Material Culture
A foundational text in material culture studies, this collection of essays explores the various ways that objects can be used as historical evidence.
The Social Life of Things: Commodities in Cultural Perspective
This collection of essays, edited by Arjun Appadurai, examines how commodities are imbued with social meaning as they move through different cultural contexts.