Race and Affluence: An Archaeology of African American and Consumer Culture.

PAUL R. MULLINS

Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, New York, 1999. Xi + 217 pp., 18 figs. $ 59.95.

     In this thought provoking book Paul R. Mullins focuses on two of the most pivotal issues in American history between 1850 and 1930, namely the spread of racial ideology and the inception of modern consumer culture. The author intentionally acknowledges that the interpretation of the past cannot be divorced from the perception of the present, especially in reference to political and economic power. The book is the result of several years of engagement with the archaeological project known as “Archaeology in Annapolis”, marshalled by Mark Leone and Parker Potter and whose main tenets include the demystification of archaeology. Using a critical approach, archaeology should study how a past is constructed and the archaeologist needs to pay attention to how people think about their own identity and history. Mullins subscribes this agenda and the author’s personal involvement and interest in all aspects of African American issues underpin the narrative and lead the reader to follow his informed arguments.

    You can read the enitire text on: Review of “Race and affluence: na archaeology of African-American and consumer culture”, by Paul R. Mullins, Historical Archaeology 34(2), 2000, 111-112.