Social Lives of Places and Things

6 Mar 2006

Anth 3520

http://www.invisiblethreads.com/potd/collections/2004_gs2/group_img.php?id=2004-gs2-20041212-tur_05

Major term assignment: proposal/biblio due today.  See here.

Reading:  

Plan for Class

Discussion

Film: Echoes of Forgotten Places

Digression into Material Culture:  What the heck is an "Oscar", anyway?  [is all this true?  http://www.oscars.org/78academyawards/meet_the_oscars/index.html , http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/4640930.stm ]

Colorado Coal Field War: Archival photos: http://www.du.edu/anthro/ludlow/cfblurb.html , and the archaeology: http://www.du.edu/anthro/ludlow/cfarch.html

Soviet era sculptures:

before: jim.rees.org/trips/su-04-71.html and after: http://muziejai.mch.mii.lt/Druskininkai/gruto_parkas.en.htm , http://www.luffa.nu/shock/statues.htm, http://www.connection.se/hem/anders/resor/lenin/ ... in Dallas in front of a hamburger stand: http://www.connection.se/hem/anders/resor/lenin/bild/usa.jpg

Industrial Archaeology

"Industrialization is probably the most significant technological change since the development of the first stone tool. Industrialization has brought about social change on an unprecedented scale in an unbelievably short period of time. Industrialization has had such a profound effect on our lives that virtually everything we do has been influenced by it.

Industrial archaeology is the recording, study, interpretation and preservation of the physical remains of industrially related artifacts, sites and systems within their social and historical contexts. This research emphasis began after World War II as the retooling of industry began to destroy elements of an earlier industrial heritage. Industrial Archaeology has in recent years included "dirt" archaeology in addition to historical research and the above ground study of exposed structures and machinery. Its subject matter covers the industrial spectrum from bridges to factories to waterpower canals to railroads to flour mills to blast furnaces to mines to dams to workers' housing to name a few."

http://www1.umn.edu/marp/indus/indus.html

Late C20 Abandoned automobile plant in Russia:

no answer: http://www.abandoned.ru/pic.php?id=368

production stopped:  http://www.abandoned.ru/pic.php?id=360

Reused industrial sites: e.g. Battersea, London, "temple of power" (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/uk/2005/battersea_power_station) : Power plant, opened 1939, decommissioned 1983, listed on World Monuments Fund site; immense site (you could fit a cathedral inside it), Art Deco style, famous icon of industry (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:PinkfloydAnimals.jpg), site of art exhibitions and Cirque du Soleil, and possibly to be remodelled as condos, art venue... Also raves (late 1980s onwards, often industrial sites)

Toronto: secrets of the TTC...

The Streetcar Graveyard: http://transit.toronto.on.ca/streetcar/4005.shtml

Where do old streetcars go? The PCC models... over 700 of Toronto's 'Red Rockets", some bought from the US (including some from Birmingham Alabama, complete with racial segregation signage http://transit.toronto.on.ca/streetcar/4507.shtml) .... used for 50 years, retired in 1995.... most cut up for scrap... now only a handful left, in transit museums.  http://transit.toronto.on.ca/streetcar/4509.shtml

Toronto's Transit Ghosts: http://transit.toronto.on.ca/spare/0017.shtml , http://transit.toronto.on.ca/streetcar/4162.shtml , http://transit.toronto.on.ca/trolleybus/9002.shtml

Toronto's Lost Subway Stations: http://transit.toronto.on.ca/subway/5006.shtml

Links to explore on historical archaeology:

http://www.sha.org/Publications/ha38ca.htm

Links to explore on industrial archaeology and urban exploration:

n.b. by including these links, I'm not endorsing illegal activities such as trespassing, and I'm not encouraging you to go to unsafe places.

Photography:

    Ontario:  http://www.invisiblethreads.com/potd/collections/galleries.php

    http://www.worksongs.com/

    http://www.forgotten-places.com/

    http://www.abandoned.ru/

    http://www.toycamera.com/

Society for Industrial Archaeology: http://www.sia-web.org/

Ars Subterranea: http://www.creativepreservation.org/projects.htm

Article by Janelle Brown: http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2001/01/16/infiltration/

Infiltration: http://www.infiltration.org/

Abandoned Missile Base: http://web.archive.org/web/19980210140145/www.xvt.com/users/kevink/silo/site.html

Catacombs of Paris (warning, human remains): http://www.triggur.org/cata/ , http://www.madstone.com/Catacombs/par00.

Some guy named Jef with neat photos and links: http://www.acme.com/jef/photos/archaeology.html

Example of academic industrial archaeology: http://www1.umn.edu/marp/indus/indus.html

Industrial archaeology in the UK: http://www.channel4.com/history/timeteam/snapshot_ind_brit.html