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From Oaxacan wood carvings to dessert kitchens in provincial
France, Critical Craft presents thirteen ethnographies which
examine what defines and makes 'craft' in a wide variety of
practices from around the world. Challenging the conventional
understanding of craft as a survival, a revival, or something that
resists capitalism, the book turns instead to the designers, DIY
enthusiasts, traditional artisans, and technical programmers who
consider their labor to be craft, in order to comprehend how they
make sense of it. The authors' ethnographic studies focus on the
individuals and communities who claim a practice as their own,
bypassing the question of craft survival to ask how and why
activities termed craft are mobilized and reproduced. Moving beyond
regional studies of heritage artisanship, the authors suggest that
ideas of craft are by definition part of a larger cosmopolitan
dialogue of power and identity. By paying careful attention to
these sometimes conflicting voices, this collection shows that
there is great flexibility in terms of which activities are
labelled 'craft'. In fact, there are many related ideas of craft
and these shape distinct engagements with materials, people, and
the economy. Case studies from countries including Mexico, Nigeria,
India, Taiwan, the Philippines, and France draw together evidence
based on linguistics, microsociology, and participant observation
to explore the shifting terrain on which those engaged in craft are
operating. What emerges is a fascinating picture which shows how
claims about craft are an integral part of contemporary global
change.
From Oaxacan wood carvings to dessert kitchens in provincial
France, Critical Craft presents thirteen ethnographies which
examine what defines and makes 'craft' in a wide variety of
practices from around the world. Challenging the conventional
understanding of craft as a survival, a revival, or something that
resists capitalism, the book turns instead to the designers, DIY
enthusiasts, traditional artisans, and technical programmers who
consider their labor to be craft, in order to comprehend how they
make sense of it. The authors' ethnographic studies focus on the
individuals and communities who claim a practice as their own,
bypassing the question of craft survival to ask how and why
activities termed craft are mobilized and reproduced. Moving beyond
regional studies of heritage artisanship, the authors suggest that
ideas of craft are by definition part of a larger cosmopolitan
dialogue of power and identity. By paying careful attention to
these sometimes conflicting voices, this collection shows that
there is great flexibility in terms of which activities are
labelled 'craft'. In fact, there are many related ideas of craft
and these shape distinct engagements with materials, people, and
the economy. Case studies from countries including Mexico, Nigeria,
India, Taiwan, the Philippines, and France draw together evidence
based on linguistics, microsociology, and participant observation
to explore the shifting terrain on which those engaged in craft are
operating. What emerges is a fascinating picture which shows how
claims about craft are an integral part of contemporary global
change.
The Hindi film industry, among the most prolific in the world, has
delighted audiences for decades with its colourful, exquisite and
sometimes startling costumes. But are costumes more than just a
source of pleasure? This book, the first in-depth exploration of
Hindi film costume, contends that they are a unique source of
knowledge about issues ranging from Indian taste and fashion to
questions of identity, gender and work.Anthropological and film
studies approaches combine to analyze costume as the outcome of
production processes and as a cinematic device for conveying
meaning. Chapters lead from the places where costume is planned and
executed to explorations of characterization, the actor body,
spectacles of fashion, to the imagining of historical or fantasy
worlds through dress, to the power of stardom to launch clothing
styles into the public domain. As well as charting the course of
film costume as it parallels important trends in cultural history,
the book considers the future of Hindi film costume, in the context
of new strains of filmmaking that stress unvarnished
realism."Fashioning Bollywood" will appeal to students and scholars
of Indian culture, anthropology and fashion, as well as anyone who
has seen and enjoyed Hindi films.
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