What constitutes an artefact in writing, please explain in a research paper.The United States has a consumer-driven economy. As such, American culture has been and continues to be deeply influenced by the things we consume. These artifacts of consumption have gone beyond simply performing a function or satisfying a need. Consumer artifacts both reflect and influence the following:
what we do
what we think, and
who we are.
“we” above refers to ourselves as individuals, as members of communities, and as members of the larger American society.
In their essay “Consuming Passions: The Culture of American Consumption,” Maasik and Soloman state that “…our possessions aren’t simply objects, they’re signs*–from the out-and-out status symbols whose purpose is to convey your place in the social hierarchy, to the clothes you wear, the music you listen to, and even the smartphone you choose to buy–all of which convey to others what sort of person you are and what your values may be” (186). As such, these artifacts of consumption are full of cultural significance and meaning just waiting to be analyzed.
For this first formal essay assignment, you will write a thesis-driven essay that focuses on persuading your audience of the social or cultural significance of a consumer artifact, a physical or digital object that someone can buy, within American popular culture. The semiotic method** will be a useful tool to find the cultural significance of your artifact. By placing your artifact within a system*** of other signs, you can determine what meaning your artifact has within that system. In reading the introduction to Signs of Life, “Popular Signs: Everything You Always Knew about American Culture (but Nobody Asked)” and the introduction to the first chapter “Consuming Passions: The Culture of American Consumption,” we can see how an astute analysis of such an artifact can lead us from an object’s denotation (function) to its connotation (its cultural meaning). Such an analysis can tell us something about ourselves, our communities, and American society.
