The Empire of Things: Regimes of Value and Material Culture

The diverse approaches to material culture presented in this collection of nine papers are reflected in the specialties of the contributors, who teach art history, anthropology, performance studies, and history at universities in the US and the UK. A unifying theme is the impact of globalization on how material culture reflects identity. In his introduction, Myers (anthropology, New York U.) provides an overview of recent work in the field that has changed notions of value and exchange. The papers consider topics in Mexico, Australia, and New Zealand, and on issues of aboriginal art and postcolonialism. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)