Materials of Culture and the (not so) Secret Life of Everyday Things

a Discovery Core Experience

This course may be taken either as BCORE 117 (Arts & Humanities) or as BCORE 115 (Social Sciences). This course also meets the DIVERSITY graduation requirement.

About This Course

How are our daily lives shaped by, entangled in, and made meaningful by the materials that make up the ‘things’ that surround us? How do materials like lithium-ion, aluminum, rubber, steel, fiberglass, wood, polyvinyl chloride, and copper impact individuals and societies, and what are the cultural consequences of their use? Do materials shape culture, or does culture shape materials? This class will take a materials-based perspective on culture to better understand how the physical matter that goes into the objects that people create reflects the histories, social practices, institutional structures, and the cultural contexts in which they are produced and consumed. In this class, we examine the life cycles and histories of materials and the commodities they produce, to form a better understanding of their impact on shaping social identities, cultural practices, political economies, and global power structures. You will collaborate in small research groups, and practice interdisciplinary research methods in a series of interactive, hands-on workshops throughout the quarter.

Selected Workshops & Activities

• We will tour the Activities & Recreation Center (ARC) where you will research and note the physical,
  tactile, and sensory qualities of various ‘materials of play.’
• We will visit the campus library and hear from UWB librarians how we can explore cultural archives to
  locate the ‘told’ and ‘untold’ histories of materials and their objects.
• Your research teams will Investigate outdoor spaces on campus, collect ‘found objects,’ and gather in the multipurpose space at the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion to build a collaborative class art installation.
• You will develop a digital story map in ArcGIS Story Maps where you will document your research process, post
  weekly reflections on your learning journey, and create a digital story map of a material and its object of your
  choosing.

Why Take This Course?

足彩app哪个是正规的 classroom and workshop environments for this class are designed to give you the freedom to actively engage in your own learning, the course materials, and with each other. You will collaborate with your research groups as you learn new ways of imagining the impact that materials have on your own lives and the social, political, and global world. We will engage with the materials of play, art, daily living, work life, food, global consumption and more. By the end of the course, you will have developed interdisciplinary skills that will allow you to explore and explain why materials (like lithium-ion) and their objects (smart phones & electric vehicles) matter.

Dr. Ronnie Thibault (she/her/ hers)

• Part Time Lecturer, University of Washington Bothell, Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences
• Part Time Lecturer, University of Washington Seattle Disability Studies

Contact

• Email: ronnie22@uw.edu