*Material** Culture Review *(MCR) invites contributions to its special
issue “Objects in Motion,” which takes up the 2011-2012 theme of Yale
University’s Material Culture Study Group. A forum for scholars to engage
with artifacts, ideas and methodologies, Yale’s Material Culture Study
Group is currently exploring the ways that the movement, dispersion,
renewal or adaptation of cultural objects shapes our relationships with
material and social practices. Movement, in this sense, is not confined to
a set of prescribed spatial parameters; some objects of focus traverse
transnational boundaries (as is the case within today’s globalized economy)
while others are examined for their movement between or within local
contexts. Some are designed or adapted for portability inside the domestic
sphere. Extending this dialogue, we invite a broad range of papers that
consider how objects accrue cultural meaning through their mobility.

Topics may include, but are not restricted to the following themes:

– Accumulation / circulation of objects within private or institutional
collections
– Cultures of repurposing, re-using or “up-cycling” goods
– Histories of Design and Decorative Arts as they relate to mobility
– Impact of commodity flows on localized cultures
– Architectural adaptations, renovations and revitalizations
– Dissemination of knowledge through print cultures
– Cross-cultural material exchange / encounter
– Circulation of knowledge through intangible cultural heritage
– Social impacts of transportation technologies
– Souvenirs and cultural tourism

Contributors from a variety of disciplinary backgrounds are invited to
submit articles, research reports or exhibition reviews that address the
theme of “Objects in Motion.”

The deadline for an expression of interest, consisting of a 300-word
abstract and CV, is *January 31, 2012. *Completed work will be due *April
15, 2012*. Information about formatting and submission can be found at:
http://culture.cbu.ca/mcr/submissions.html.Electronic
submissions should be sent to Richard MacKinnon,
Editor-in-Chief: richard_mackinnon@cbu.ca.

*Material** Culture Review *is distributed to over 250 universities,
libraries, research institutions and museums in 15 countries. MCR seeks to
provide a venue for refereed articles and reports encompassing a range of
approaches to interpret culture through an analysis of people’s
relationships with their material world. For more information, please
visit: http://culture.cbu.ca/mcr