Overview

Cultural history is increasingly informed by the history of material culture-the ways in which individuals or entire societies create and relate to objects both mundane and extraordinary-rather than on textual evidence alone. Books such as The Hare with Amber Eyes and A History of the World in 100 Objects indicate the growing popularity of this way of understanding the past. In History and Its Objects, Peter N. Miller uncovers the forgotten origins of our fascination with exploring the past through its artifacts by highlighting the role of antiquarianism-a pursuit ignored and derided by modem academic history-in grasping the significance of material culture. From the efforts of Renaissance antiquarians, who reconstructed life in the ancient world from coins, inscriptions, seals, and other detritus, to amateur historians in the nineteenth century working within burgeoning national traditions, Miller connects collecting-whether by individuals or institutions-to the professionalization of the historical profession, one which came to regard its progenitors with skepticism and disdain. The struggle to articulate the value of objects as historical evidence, then, lies at the heart both of academic history-writing and of the popular engagement with things. Ultimately, this book demonstrates that our current preoccupation with objects is far from novel and reflects a human need to reexperience the past as a physical presence.

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9780801453700

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Reviews

A scholarly triumph, Peter N. Miller's History and Its Objects offers a sweeping and often deeply personal intellectual voyage along the long arc of the 'material turn' in the Western philosophy of objects. Miller combines deep erudition and an accessible voice in a work that speaks to the very heart of how and what objects mean. -Bernard L. Herman, George B. Tindall Distinguished Professor of Southern Studies and Chair, Department of American Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill History and Its Objects is a wonderful book. Peter N. Miller's great achievement is to offer a coherent narrative, step by step, generation by generation. It is the finding of a hidden path through a jungle of literature that has fallen into oblivion. -Martin Mulsow, University of Erfurt History and Its Objects is a potent and important book. Peter N. Miller's revelations have exciting and provocative implications for our understanding of historiography and the development of archeology, art history, and museum studies. -William Stenhouse, Yeshiva University In its clarity, History and Its Objects is a pure pleasure to read. Peter N. Miller tells his story with great erudition and in a personal tone, elegantly composing it from numerous historical examples. -Matthias Bruhn, Humboldt University Berlin Peter N. Miller offers an original approach to the history of things, bringing what he calls a 'submerged history' of things to the surface. -Peter Burke, Emmanuel College, Cambridge In this remarkable book, Peter N. Miller unearths an unsuspected genealogy for material culture studies and cultural history. We owe Miller a debt of gratitude for laying bare this deep history and revealing that in our present celebration of material culture, we are joining a long conversation. -Pamela H. Smith, Columbia University Weaving together literary and scholarly insights, History and Its Objects will prove indispensable reading for historians and cultural historians, as well as anthropologists and archeologists worldwide. -Nathan Schlanger, Ecole nationale des chartes, Paris

""A scholarly triumph, Peter N. Miller's History and Its Objects offers a sweeping and often deeply personal intellectual voyage along the long arc of the 'material turn' in the Western philosophy of objects. Miller combines deep erudition and an accessible voice in a work that speaks to the very heart of how and what objects mean.""-Bernard L. Herman, George B. Tindall Distinguished Professor of Southern Studies and Chair, Department of American Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill ""History and Its Objects is a wonderful book. Peter N. Miller's great achievement is to offer a coherent narrative, step by step, generation by generation. It is the finding of a hidden path through a jungle of literature that has fallen into oblivion.""-Martin Mulsow, University of Erfurt ""History and Its Objects is a potent and important book. Peter N. Miller's revelations have exciting and provocative implications for our understanding of historiography and the development of archeology, art history, and museum studies.""-William Stenhouse, Yeshiva University ""In its clarity, History and Its Objects is a pure pleasure to read. Peter N. Miller tells his story with great erudition and in a personal tone, elegantly composing it from numerous historical examples.""-Matthias Bruhn, Humboldt University Berlin ""Peter N. Miller offers an original approach to the history of things, bringing what he calls a 'submerged history' of things to the surface.""-Peter Burke, Emmanuel College, Cambridge ""In this remarkable book, Peter N. Miller unearths an unsuspected genealogy for material culture studies and cultural history. We owe Miller a debt of gratitude for laying bare this deep history and revealing that in our present celebration of material culture, we are joining a long conversation.""-Pamela H. Smith, Columbia University ""Weaving together literary and scholarly insights, History and Its Objects will prove indispensable reading for historians and cultural historians, as well as anthropologists and archeologists worldwide.""-Nathan Schlanger, Ecole nationale des chartes, Paris

Author Information

Peter N. Miller is Dean and Professor at Bard Graduate Center. He is the author most recently of Peiresc's Mediterranean World, editor of Cultural Histories of the Material World, and coeditor of Antiquarianism and Intellectual Life in Europe and China, 1500-1800.

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