Meaning in Artifact

Why this lens matters

Meaning reveals what people consider sacred, beautiful, shameful, true, valuable, funny or worth preserving.

Follow-ups

1. What belief, myth or value gives it meaning?
2. What emotions does it gather?
3. What symbols or stories reinforce it?
4. What moral lesson is attached?
5. What meaning is contested or changing?

Perspective shift

How would a believer and a sceptic interpret it differently?

Perturbation

What happens when its meaning fades, reverses or becomes disputed?

Example

Use this while working on the objects, tools, clothing, props and material culture: choose one concrete detail and ask how meaning changes what it means.