Week 4

Context
This plan was submitted in the fourth week of class for In Small Things Forgotten: An Archaeology of Early American Life, by James Deetz. The theme for this week was history.

Comments
This week we were filmed in class.

Plan
1. I was really fascinated by Deetz's comment that "looking glass" was once the common vernacular term for a chamber pot (p. 15). I wasn't quite sure exactly what he meant by a "folk taxonomy" on the preceding page, however. If there's time, I want to ask about this because his discussion on types of information that are used by archaeologists and historians and other researchers dealing with this type of material culture made me wonder how I could apply this discussion to my own fieldwork and research experience. For instance, what are some ways in which history and ethnography enrich and complement one another? Deetz mentioned talking to those who still participated in old traditions or lifeways, but for early historians or archaeologists, sometimes all that's left really is the "small things." He says material culture "may be the most objective," but what does that mean exactly, and from whose perspective? (p.259)

2. I thought  the title of this book (and its origin) was really clever. Are there any studies like this for contemporary American life, or for other parts of the world?