HIST 840
SYLLABUS
WEEKLY DISCUSSION MATERIALS
COURSE MATERIALS

 

Week 7:

POSSESSIONS; BUILDING MATERIALS; CELLAR AND PASSAGE

Videos:

Early doll houses:

“The Miniaturist: Real-Life History” (about Dutch doll-houses of the 17th century; 7:13 min,):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGGb_M0dBcs

“Dutch cabinet kitchen” (in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London; 3:00 min.):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xe0IJ7buXMg

[Photos only:] “The magical miniature world of antique dollhouses” (from the Netherlands, Germany, France, England, and USA)

My aunty’s one-room flat in Mumbai, where she has lived for 55 years (2012). 10:56 min.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Kj8L0kdSFg

BBC Living with Nomads: Mongolia (59 min.; for life in the ger, see 25:00-32:00 min.):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzKkMIn7EZk

Biltmore House and its estate (30 min.):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKquCvMamcY

Biltmore: archivists’ stories about the house and estate (7:41 min.):
https:/www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HvOsLtl2pc

The Breakers, Providence, RI (6:19 min.; start at 2:40 min.):
https:/www.youtube.com/watch?v=huNJBK33ZNg

Consuelo Vanderbilt’s upbringing (4:30 min.):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugeRpSV7ybY

 

Readings:

Moore, The Prehistory of Home, Chapter 4 (“Durable Goods”), pp. 48-69

Fernand Braudel, Civilization & Capitalism, 15th-18 Century, vol. 1: The Structures of Everyday Life. Trans. Siân Reynolds. New York: Harper and Row, 1981, pp. 285-298 (+notes on pp. 588-589).

Mito Habe-Evans, “Everything You Own in a Photo: A Look at Our Worldly Possessions” (National Public Radio, 10 August 2010), with photos by Peter Menzel (Material World) and Ma Hongjie and Huang Qingjun (Family Stuff) https://www.npr.org/sections/pictureshow/2010/08/10/129113632/picturingpossessions

Peter Menzel, Material World (online gallery of 12 photos, from book published by Sierra Club in 1994): http://menzelphoto.com/galleries/material-world/

Bryson, At Home, Chapters 9 (“The Cellar”) and 10 (“The Passage”), pp. 278-340