Patina: A Profane Archaeology Contributor(s): Dawdy, Shannon Lee (Author) |
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ISBN: 022635105X ISBN-13: 9780226351056 Publisher: University of Chicago Press OUR PRICE: $98.01 Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats Published: May 2016 |
Additional Information |
BISAC Categories: - Social Science | Anthropology - Cultural & Social - Social Science | Archaeology - Social Science | Disasters & Disaster Relief |
Dewey: 976.335 |
LCCN: 2015042386 |
Physical Information: 0.7" H x 6" W x 9.1" (0.90 lbs) 216 pages |
Themes: - Chronological Period - 21st Century - Locality - New Orleans, Louisiana - Geographic Orientation - Louisiana |
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
Publisher Description: When Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans, the world reacted with shock on seeing residents of this distinctive city left abandoned to the floodwaters. After the last rescue was completed, a new worry arose--that New Orleans's unique historic fabric sat in ruins, and we had lost one of the most charming old cities of the New World. In Patina, anthropologist Shannon Lee Dawdy examines what was lost and found through the destruction of Hurricane Katrina. Tracking the rich history and unique physicality of New Orleans, she explains how it came to adopt the nickname "the antique city." With innovative applications of thing theory, Patina studies the influence of specific items--such as souvenirs, heirlooms, and Hurricane Katrina ruins--to explore how the city's residents use material objects to comprehend time, history, and their connection to one another. A leading figure in archaeology of the contemporary, Dawdy draws on material evidence, archival and literary texts, and dozens of post-Katrina interviews to explore how the patina aesthetic informs a trenchant political critique. An intriguing study of the power of everyday objects, Patina demonstrates how sharing in the care of a historic landscape can unite a city's population--despite extreme divisions of class and race--and inspire civil camaraderie based on a nostalgia that offers not a return to the past but an alternative future. |
Contributor Bio(s): Dawdy, Shannon Lee: - Shannon Lee Dawdy is associate professor of anthropology at the University of Chicago. She was awarded a MacArthur Genius Fellowship in 2010. |