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Part 1:
Part 1:
Constraints of wheel- throwing
Constraints of wheel- throwing
At the crossroads of ethnography, motor behavior sciences and archaeology, we will explore the traditionnal wheel-throwing skill through (i) its technical aspects (i.e. structuring constraints) and (ii) its cultural transmission across generations. The wheel-throwing constraints will be addressed on the basis of field experiments results collected with modern potters in different cultural settings. In this first part of the course, the high-speed wheel characteristics will be described. Then, we will question how potters deal with (i) the pots’s mechanical constraints, (ii) the rotation speed control, and (iii) the use of hand positions to shape the clay in an intended result.
At the crossroads of ethnography, motor behavior sciences and archaeology, we will explore the traditionnal wheel-throwing skill through (i) its technical aspects (i.e. structuring constraints) and (ii) its cultural transmission across generations. The wheel-throwing constraints will be addressed on the basis of field experiments results collected with modern potters in different cultural settings. In this first part of the course, the high-speed wheel characteristics will be described. Then, we will question how potters deal with (i) the pots’s mechanical constraints, (ii) the rotation speed control, and (iii) the use of hand positions to shape the clay in an intended result.
Part 2:
Part 2:
Cultural transmission of wheel- throwing
Cultural transmission of wheel- throwing
The second part of the course will be dedicated to the cultural transmission of the wheel-throwing craft. At first, we will draw a theoritical framework inspired from dual-inheritance theory and motor behavior sciences. Illustrated by an ethnographic documentation, different notions useful to address craft apprenticeship will be presented: community of practice, chaine opératoire, traditional production, peripheral participation. Finally, we will present the experimental study set up by Roux & Corbetta (1989), focuzing on the wheel-pottery learning in the Indian context. During the last hour of the teaching workshop original results from a Nepalese potting community will be presented. In particular, we will try to understand how (i) culture, (ii) individual, and (iii) task constraints influence (i) the way potters use their hands and (ii) the consecutive pots’ shapes.
The second part of the course will be dedicated to the cultural transmission of the wheel-throwing craft. At first, we will draw a theoritical framework inspired from dual-inheritance theory and motor behavior sciences. Illustrated by an ethnographic documentation, different notions useful to address craft apprenticeship will be presented: community of practice, chaine opératoire, traditional production, peripheral participation. Finally, we will present the experimental study set up by Roux & Corbetta (1989), focuzing on the wheel-pottery learning in the Indian context. During the last hour of the teaching workshop original results from a Nepalese potting community will be presented. In particular, we will try to understand how (i) culture, (ii) individual, and (iii) task constraints influence (i) the way potters use their hands and (ii) the consecutive pots’ shapes.
Bibliography
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