best gas masks

Gas masks are distinctive, iconic, and evocative objects. As a technology, a uniform, a symbol, and a mask, the gas mask defies simple categorization. In this article I use memory narratives to examine the active social lives of children’s gas masks in Second World War Britain; their uses, misuses, and disposal. By focusing on the unique sensory aspect of the gas mask, I consider a range of interconnected themes, including the effects of poison gas, the aesthetics of childhood learning, and the connections between memory and the senses. This study builds on recent criticisms of social constructivism and ‘asymmetry’ in the study of people and material culture; the child’s gas mask thus emerges not only as a social and physical mediator between children and the world at war they inhabited, but as an actor shaping the aesthetic experience and memories of that world. Le masque à gaz est un objet distinctif, iconique, évocateur. Équipement technologique autant qu’uniforme, symbole et masque, il défie les catégorisations simples. L’auteur utilise ici des récits de souvenirs pour étudier la vie sociale active des masques à gaz pour enfants dans la Grande-Bretagne de la seconde Guerre mondiale, leur utilisation, leurs abus, leur mise au rebut. En se concentrant sur l’aspect sensoriel unique des masques à gaz, l’auteur aborde plusieurs thèmes interconnectés : effets des gaz toxiques, esthétique de l’apprentissage dans l’enfance, liens entre mémoire et sens. Cette étude se fonde sur la critique récente du constructivisme social et de « l’asymétrie » dans l’étude des peuples et des cultures matérielles. Le masque à gaz pour enfant apparaît ainsi non seulement comme un médiateur social et physique entre l’enfant et le monde en guerre dans lequel il vivait, mais comme un acteur donnant forme à une expérience esthétique et aux souvenirs de ce monde.

Journal Information

JSTOR provides a digital archive of the print version of The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute. The electronic version of The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute is available at http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/servlet/useragent?func=showIssues&code;=jrai. Authorized users may be able to access the full text articles at this site.

Publisher Information

The Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland (RAI) is the world’s longest-established scholarly association dedicated to the furtherance of anthropology (the study of humankind) in its broadest and most inclusive sense. The Institute is a non-profit-making registered charity and is entirely independent, with a Director and a small staff accountable to the Council, which in turn is elected annually from the Fellowship. It has a Royal Patron in the person of HRH The Duke of Gloucester KG, GCVO. best gas masks

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *