Modelwork: The Material Culture of Making and Knowing

Models are essential for understanding and shaping the world around us, as they bridge the gap between the tangible and the abstract. This wide-ranging volume examines the interrelationships between a model's material foundations and the otherwise invisible things it gestures toward, highlighting the pivotal role of models in cultural development. Contributions from scholars in the history of science and technology, visual studies, musicology, literary studies, and material culture demonstrate that models serve as invaluable tools across every field of cultural development, both historically and in the present day.

Format: Hardback
Length: 312 pages
Publication date: 04 November 2021
Publisher: University of Minnesota Press

Models play a crucial role in expanding human inquiry, whether exploring the inner workings of human anatomy or delving into the vast expanse of the universe. In this comprehensive volume, scholars from various fields examine the intricate connections between the material foundations of models and the unseen phenomena they gesture toward. They highlight the pivotal role of models in understanding and shaping the world around us. Models can take various forms, including reproductions, interpretive processes, and constitutive tools, serving as bridges between the tangible and the abstract.

By focusing on the material aspects of models, including digital ones that may seem to replace their analogue forebears, these insightful essays ground modeling as a tactile and humanistic endeavor. The book showcases that models are valuable tools across all fields of cultural development, both historically and in the present day.

Modelwork, through its emphasis on modeling's duality, a dynamic exchange between imagination and matter, offers a unique perspective. This publication demonstrates how models shape our ability to perceive the world and inspire new ways to transform it.

Contributors to this volume include renowned scholars from institutions such as Virginia Tech, UCLA, Temple U, Harvard U, New York U, Harvard U, Williams College, Purdue U, New York U, and the University of Washington. Their contributions provide a diverse range of insights and perspectives on the role of models in shaping our understanding of the world.

In conclusion, models are essential tools for expanding human inquiry, enabling us to understand the world around us and envision new possibilities. This comprehensive volume showcases the value of models in various fields and highlights the contributions of scholars from diverse disciplines. By examining the material foundations of models and their interrelationships with unseen phenomena, it provides a deeper understanding of the role of models in shaping our cultural development and understanding of the world.

Dimension: 254 x 178 x 38 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781517910891