THE SOCIAL LIFE OF THINGS

The meaning that people attribute to things necessarily derives from human transactions and motivations, particularly from how those things are used and circulated. The contributors to this volume examine how things are sold and traded in a variety of social and c ultural settings, both present and past. Focusing on culturally defined aspects of exchange and socially regulated processes of circ ulation, the essays illuminate the ways in which people find value in things and things give value to social relations. By looking a t things...[Read more]