Refrangible is a podcast from the Center for Design and Material Culture at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
In each episode, we explore the stuff of everyday life and what it tells us about ourselves, our world, and our values. From keepsakes to clutter, from tools to trash, the things we make, use, and save carry stories within them. Tune in for a closer look at the material traces of our past and what they might inspire for our shared future.
Whether it’s an alien-fighting space robot or a cherished family heirloom, we all have a special place in our heart for our favorite childhood toys. In this episode of Refrangible, we take a closer look at that connection, and how it shapes us as adults.
Thanks to our guests for this episode: Mark Chester, Karla Chester and Nikki Hollander (a.k.a. Grandma Kitschy).
27 May 2022
Domestic Classrooms: The Intersection of Home and School
From a practice cottage to a home management house, UW-Madison has a long history of live-in learning experiences. In this episode of Refrangible, we examine the university’s history of domestic education, and the lessons 21st century educators can pull from those experiments.
Thanks to our guests for this episode (in order of appearance): Barbara Tensfeldt, retired and professional volunteer; and Dr. Elizabeth Hooper-Lane, senior lecturer of art history at UW-Madison and an academic staff member at UW-Oshkosh.
13 May 2022
Troubling Objects and the Illusion of Luxury
In this episode, we examine how luxury home goods in southern plantation houses obscured the true ugliness running just under the surface.
29 Apr 2022
Home Sweet Home
In this episode, we examine what defines a “home” — and what happens when it’s taken away.
21 Mar 2022
Uncomfortable Objects: Art and Death
Think about an object that makes you uncomfortable. Now, ask yourself: Why do you tend to side-eye that particular thing?
In this episode of Refrangible, we’re talking about objects that may send shivers down our spines.
4 Mar 2022
Commodifying Culture
In episode one of this season, we touched briefly on the idea of appropriating – or perhaps, more accurately, commodifying – culture. Who really gets to reap the rewards, financial and otherwise, of a specific culture’s iconography, spirituality and history? In this episode, we’re reexamining the commodification of culture: and what happens when appreciation turns into appropriation.
11 Feb 2022
Clothing and Identity: Revisiting our past, one stitch at a time
In our first episode of season two, we posed a question: Who wears what, and why? We wanted to explore why folks dress the way they do, and what happens when a third party uses clothing to either impose an identity or steal someone else’s. As we were planning out that episode, we realized there was more to this discussion than we could possibly fit in a single episode.
So we decided to break the topic into two segments. So, today, we’re looking at the roots of American clothing and how those roots impact our modern-day relationship with clothes.
28 Jan 2022
Clothing and Identity: Who wears what, and why?
How do you choose what to wear each day? Is it a matter of practicality, social expectations, or cultural identity? Or have you just been putting off doing the laundry, and this just happens to be your last clean shirt?
In episode one of season two of Refrangible, a podcast from the Center for Design and Material Culture, we’re exploring the intersection of clothing, culture and politics. Or, put more simply: Who wears what, and why?
7 Jul 2021
Our Bodies and the Lessons They Teach Us
Over the past three episodes, we’ve explored the idea of material culture through a series of inanimate objects. For our final episode of season one, we wanted to take a look at something we all use and have a very personal connection with: our bodies.
The fear and uncertainty of the current pandemic forced us to think about our bodies in new ways. Self-care took on a new meaning and personal choices about what to do with your body had an impact on your entire community.
2 Jun 2021
Sewing and the Art of Necessity
Textile creation has long been an art of necessity, as makers mended and created clothing and often used remnants of fabric to make quilts. But gradually, the creation of these textiles has grown from necessity to high art.
This month on Refrangible, the object at the center of our discussion is the sewing machine.
5 May 2021
Maypoles and Our Shifting Reality
For many European cultures, the Maypole symbolizes the dawning of spring. It alongside the annual May Day festival, marks the end of winter, a time of cold, darkness and death.
In this episode, we ponder the question: What is our Maypole, and how do we process our eventual emergence from the COVID-19 pandemic?
7 Apr 2021
The Home Front
During World War II, through tight control of the media, economy and social messaging -- the U.S. Government was able to instill in the American people a sense of collectivism. Simply put, we were all in it together, and if one of us failed, then we all failed.
But, during the COVID-19 Pandemic, that sense of collective responsibility has seemed to vanish. Even while the coronavirus death count climbed, public health guidance from the federal government was viewed with doubt and skepticism by a large swath of the American public.
So...what happened? Was there ever really a true sense of national collective responsibility or was it just an artificial concept, enforced by the federal government during World War II to ensure obedience? Or, has our sense of community as a nation really just degraded in the ensuing eighty years?
In this episode, we examine a series of meal planning pamphlets published as part of the U.S. Government’s National Wartime Nutrition Program. The pamphlets were distributed during World War II, with the intent to help housewives make the most of their allotted rations. But, in addition to recipes, these pamphlets can also provide us a glimpse into how Americans viewed collective responsibility during times of crisis.
30 Mar 2021
What is Material Culture?
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines material culture as "the totality of physical objects made by a people for the satisfaction of their needs, especially: those articles requisite for the sustenance and perpetuation of life."
But that definition is just a starting point...
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