An Archaeology of the Immaterial

An Archaeology of the Immaterial examines a highly significant but poorly understood aspect of material culture studies namely the active rejection of the material world. By this is meant a number of cultural projects, from anti-consumerism, asceticism, and other attempts to transcend material circumstances. This book looks at the way people ‘disengage’ from the material world as a specific kind of physical engagement that has profound implications for our understanding of personhood and materiality.