Hans Peter Hahn, "Dinge erkennen. Materialität und die Formierung der Ethnologie als Wissenschaft", in: Markus Hilgert, Henrike Simon and Kerstin P. Hofmann (Eds.), Objektepistemologien. Zur Vermessung eines transdisziplinären Forschungsraums, Berlin: Edition Topoi, 2018, 69–88

Abstract

In many practices of scholarship, material objects appear as the solid foundation of knowledge. The expansion of the knowledge fields in the 19th century entailed that also in cultural anthropology, material things were regarded as the first and most promising means to gain knowledge about cultures worldwide. The close observation of things and the juxtaposition of artefacts quickly led to the formation of global theories of culture. Things were not considered for themselves, but as indicators for more generalizing systems of ideas. It was not before the period after 1950 that, amongst others, post-structuralist approaches did question such claims about evidence. Since that time, it is widely acknowledged that things have multiple meanings and their roles depend on the way they are embedded in the culture. Thus, things should not be considered as mirror of society, but rather as contributing to their actual form and future development.

Published In

Markus Hilgert, Henrike Simon and Kerstin P. Hofmann (Eds.), Objektepistemologien. Zur Vermessung eines transdisziplinären Forschungsraums, Berlin: Edition Topoi, 2018