The purpose of this thesis is to try and create a proposed method for object-based research, that can identify the presence of secular dress that have been repurposed in church vestments. By applying the basic principles of Material Culture Studies and current research methods for the fields of Textile Studies, a proposed model is developed in accordance with different process development strategies. The result of the study gives not only a new possible format for object-based studies within the research of repurposed textiles in a historical context, but also renders new data about a large quantity of chasubles in the collection of Statens historiska muséer. The results can shed new light on secular dress repurposed for liturgical vestments.

Sir John Tenniel worked for the Victorian magazine Punch for over fifty years, from 1850 to 1901, and served as head cartoonist for the latter thirty-seven years of his tenure at the magazine. Tenniel's cartoons effectively became the heart of Punch's visual lineup, and the sentiments expressed by these cartoons both reflected and influenced the opinions of the magazine']s vast middle class readership. However, they did not generally reflect the opinions of the cartoonist himself: Tenniel had little to no say in decisions regarding the content or stance of his cartoons. The artist ostensibly had no problem with this arrangement, once telling a historian, "As for political opinions, I have none… [I] profess only those of my paper." This project argues that the artist did indeed inject a degree of personal opinion into his work, albeit in hidden and unconscious ways. Instead of using the medium of cartoons as an overt vehicle for his opinion, Tenniel's values and views come out in his use of iconography and his choice of models for his drawings. As a conservative Victorian man operating in the rapidly changing world of the latter nineteenth century, Tenniel used his drawings as a way to tap into the England of his youth and possibly reclaim the art world he originally studied to join as a young man. His iconography frequently looked back to medieval England, framing current events within these themes until the end of his career. Furthermore, Tenniel doggedly refused to update his mental drawing models for certain forms of technology, even when his depictions became obviously anachronistic. This thesis examines these tendencies through the threefold lenses of Material Culture Studies, Social Constructivism, and Nostalgia Studies in an attempt to link Tenniel's treatment of medieval iconography and depiction of modern technology with the nostalgic past. / Master of Arts

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A 'wave of nostalgia' has gripped the US leading to nostalgic fashions, furniture, television programming and even food. The marketing literature suggests that nostalgic-related consumption is the result of an aging population. It has been proposed that the purchase of nostalgic-products and services is an attempt by mature consumers to return psychologically to the ease, certainties and conflict free periods that existed or seemed to exist during their childhood or adolescence. This paper proposes that discontinuity, as argued by Davis (1979), is a better explanation for why people develop a preference for and consume nostalgic goods. Although some insights have been developed, research focused only on mature consumers and is rather limited in offering alternative explanations for the evocation of nostalgic feelings. MANCOVA was the primary method used to test hypotheses. Findings of this study indicate that discontinuity does not necessarily lead to nostalgia and preference for nostalgic products varies. / by Jana Rutherford. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2010. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2010. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

This thesis is a critical study of two exhibits, First Encounters Spanish Exploration in the Caribbean and A Tribute to Survival. The objective of the thesis was to understand if and how indigenous activists, using the media as tool, were able to change curatorial approaches to exhibition development. Chapter 1 is broken into three sections. The first section introduces the exhibits and succinctly discusses the theory that is applied to this thesis. The second section discusses the objectives of the project and the third provides a brief outline of the document. Chapter 2 discusses the historical background of American museums in an attempt to highlight changes in curatorial attitudes towards the public, display, interpretation, and authority. Chapter 3 gives a more in-depth overview of the methodology and materials utilized in the thesis. Chapter 4 is a critical analysis of the literature for both First Encounters and A Tribute to Survival. Chapter five is a summary of the thesis and offers a conclusion of the effectiveness of using the media as a tool. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2015. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

The interest for doing this study is developed during my time as a student in textile history atUppsala university, Sweden. Textile history, as it is taught in Uppsala, uses both practical andtheoretical knowledge as a base for analysing, understanding and interpreting, textiles as sourcematerial in research. As a student in textile history I have sometimes experienced a lack ofunderstanding for the position it takes in the academic field, both from people within the textilehistorical field and from the outside. In this study, I take the opportunity to explore this position.I understand textile history research as a field in between the practical and theoretical.Knowledge in craft are used as a base for understanding source material, but are then oftenconnected to the theoretical framework of Material culture studies (MCS) for interpretation.But, even though this is an often-used theory, the problems of finding relevant texts and frame-works are difficult.By generating a grounded theory about the field of craft- and practical research in Swe-den, and then moving on to see what kind of literature the field of MCS can offer, I discuss theposition that textile historical research take between them. The generated theory shows that themain concern in the field of practical research are the aim to be an accepted part of the academy.The analysis of the literature in the field of MCS shows that the areas of technology and materialsciences need tools to understand the human aspect of production. From this I conclude thattextile history, as a field that is already part of creating a meeting between practical researchand MCS, could well take up the position to write its own theories. Theories grounded in prac-tical knowledge, but as a part of the field of MCS. Doing that would be of gain for both fields,and for the textile historians inhabiting and creating a meeting in between the fields.

Silk-weaving in Sweden during the 19th century. Textiles and texts - An evaluation of the source material. With the rich material available, 19th century silk-weaving invites to studies on industrialisation processes. The purpose of this licentiate thesis is to present and discuss an empirical material regarding silk production in Sweden in the 19th century, to examine the possibilities and problems of different kinds of materials when used as source materials, and to describe how this material can be systematized and analysed in relation to the perspective of a textile scientific interpretation. The introductory sections of the thesis provide a background to textile research and the subject of textile science. This is followed by an overview of previous research on silk-weaving in Sweden and a historical overview of silk-weaving in Sweden, the Jacquard machine, and the K.A. Almgren Sidenväveri, where large parts of the source material have been preserved. After these overviews, the research material is described and systematized: first the main materials, textiles, machines and other objects, and then the various written sources. By way of conclusion, the empirical material is summarized in a critical discussion where the various groups of materials are evaluated in comparison to one another. A discussion on theory and methodology regarding objects as sources and the use of experience-based knowledge in academic research is developed in connection to the critical discussion. Finally, the potential of the material is demonstrated through a textile example. The presentation is an introduction to the cultural-historical analysis that will follow in the PhD thesis. Here, the empirical material will be analysed through the use of knowledge in handicrafts, which may create new dimensions of silk production in Sweden and the complexity of the industrialisation process.

<p>This is a study of martial material culture in the context of the Viking Age warrior of Birka, Sweden. The aim is to establish the role, function and affiliation of the Birka warrior and thereby place Birka on the power-political map of the 10th century. The study is based on the excavations of the fortified structures, particularly the Garrison, at the trading post of Birka as well as the extensive remains of material culture deriving from these investigations. A starting hypothesis is that an analysis of material culture constitutes a way of mapping social structures and that style and iconography reflect cultural groups, contacts and loyalties.</p><p>Based on the case studies of six papers, the synthesis deals with questions of the work and world view of the warriors, as too their relation to their contemporary counterparts in eastern and western Europe. Questions are raised concerning the value and function of symbols in a martial context where material culture reflects rank, status and office. In defining the Birka warrior’s particular stylistic expression, a tool is created and used in the search for contacts and affiliations reflected through the distribution patterns. The results show close contacts with the eastern trading posts located on the rivers Volga and Dnjepr in Ancient Russia.</p><p>It is stated that these Rus’ trading posts, essentially inhabited by Northmen, shared a common cultural expression that was maintained throughout a vast area by exceptionally close contacts. It is suggested that a particular stylistic expression developed in these Rus’ trading places containing elements of mainly Scandinavian, Steppe nomadic and Byzantine origin.</p><p>In conclusion, the results of this thesis show that the warriors from Birka’s Garrison had a share in the martial development of contemporary Europe but with their own particular traits. Close relations with the eastern trade route and contact with the powerful Byzantine Empire were enjoyed. As a pointer for future research, it is wondered what organisational form the close-knit structure of the Rus’ trading posts actually took, keeping the subsequent guilds of medieval Europe in mind. The fall of the Garrison, as of Birka, corresponds with the establishment of Christianity in the region. Such changes were not limited to Central Sweden but part of a greater process where a new political structure was developing, better anchored in local concerns.</p>

The chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes, Pongidae) among all other living species, is our closest relation, with whom we last shared a common ancestor less than five million years ago. These African apes make and use a rich and varied kit of tools. Of the primates, and even of the other Great Apes, they are the only consistent and habitual tool-users. Chimpanzees meet the criteria of working definitions of culture as originally devised for human beings in socio-cultural anthropology. They show sex differences in using tools to obtain and to process a variety of plant and animal foods. The technological gap between chimpanzees and human societies living by foraging (hunter-gatherers) is surprisingly narrow, at least for food-getting. Different communities of chimpanzees have different tool-kits, and not all of this regional and local variation can be explained by the varied physical and biotic environments in which they live. Some differences are likely customs based on non-functionally derived and symbolically encoded traditions. Chimpanzees serve as heuristic, referential models for the reconstruction of cultural evolution in apes and humans from an ancestral hominoid. However, chimpanzees are not humans, and key differences exist between them, though many of these apparent contrasts remain to be explored empirically and theoretically.

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