Crap: A History of Cheap Stuff in America - Couverture rigide

Woloson, Wendy A

Couverture rigide

ISBN 10 : 022666435X ISBN 13 : 9780226664354

Editeur : University of Chicago Press, 2020

Synopsis

Crap. We all have it. Filling drawers. Overflowing bins and baskets. Proudly displayed or stuffed in boxes in basements and garages. Big and small. Metal, fabric, and a whole lot of plastic. So much crap. Abundant cheap stuff is about as American as it gets. And, it turns out these seemingly unimportant consumer goods offer unique insights into ourselves--our values and our desires. In Crap: A History of Cheap Stuff in America, Wendy A. Woloson takes seriously the history of objects that are often cynically dismissed: things that are not made to last; things we don't really need; things we often don't even really want. Woloson does not mock these ordinary, everyday possessions, but seeks to understand them as a way to understand aspects of ourselves, socially, culturally, and economically: Why do we--as individuals and as a culture--possess these things? Where do they come from? Why do we want them? And what is the true cost of owing them? Woloson tells the history of crap from the late eighteenth century up through today, exploring the many categories of crappy things, including gadgets, knickknacks, novelty goods, mass-produced collectibles, giftware, and variety store merchandise. As Woloson shows, not all crap is crappy in the same way--decorative bric-a-brac, for instance, is crappy in a different way from, say, advertising giveaways, which are differently crappy from commemorative plates. Taking on the full brilliant and depressing array of crappy material goods, the book explores the overlooked corners of the American market and mindset, revealing the complexity of our relationship with commodity culture over time. By studying crap, rather than finely made material objects, Woloson shows us a new way to truly understand ourselves, our national character, and our collective psyche. For all its problems, and despite its disposability, our crap is us.

A propos du livre

À propos de l'auteur

Wendy A. Woloson is associate professor of history at Rutgers University-Camden and the author, most recently, of In Hock: Pawning in America from Independence through the Great Depression, also published by the University of Chicago Press, and coeditor of the collection, Capitalism by Gaslight: Illuminating the Economy of 19th-Century America.

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: University of Chicago Press
• Date d'édition: 2020
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 022666435X
• ISBN 13: 9780226664354
• Reliure: Relié
• Nombre de pages: 416
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible
• Personne responsable: non disponible