Cultural objects as objects: materiality, urban space, and the interpretation of AIDS campaigns in Accra, Ghana.
AIDS media lead unexpected lives once distributed through urban space: billboards fade, posters go missing, bumper stickers travel to other cities. The materiality of AIDS campaign objects and of the urban settings in which they are displayed structures how the public interprets their messages. Ethnographic observation of AIDS media in situ and interview data reveal how the materiality of objects and places shapes the availability of AIDS knowledge in Accra, Ghana. Significantly for AIDS organizations, these material conditions often systematically obstruct access to AIDS knowledge for particular groups. Attending to materiality rethinks how scholars assess the cultural power of media.
McDonnell
Terence E
TE
Department of Sociology, Vanderbilt University, VU Station B351811, Nashville, Tennesee 37235-1811, USA. terence.e.mcdonnell@vanderbilt.edu
D000884:Anthropology, Cultural; D005869:Ghana; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000517:prevention & control*; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods* / Q000458:organization & administration; D006801:Humans; D057175:Posters as Topic; D015397:Program Evaluation; D040241:Social Marketing; D014505:Urban Population