![]() It's a profoundly democratising way of understanding the world. Nonhuman persons were not tethered to specific humans, and they did not derive their personhood from a connection with a human. Does it have personhood (if at all) because it is connected to me, drawing this resource from me as an owner or source? For the Maya (who did have plenty of other communicating objects, if not smartphones), the answer was no. Consider my iPhone, which needs to be fed with electricity every night, swaddled in a protective bumper, and enjoys communicating with other fellow-phone-beings. I sought out instances in which faces (some combination of eyes, nose, and mouth) are shown on inanimate objects. ![]() In order to explore the slippage of categories between 'humans' and 'persons', I examined a very specific category of ancient Maya images, found painted in scenes on ceramic vessels. That is, human beings were persons “ but other, nonhuman entities could be persons, too. The author of this book review is LEAST likely to support the view that:įor the Maya of the Classic period, who lived in Southern Mexico and Central America between 250 and 900 CE, the category of 'persons' was not coincident with human beings, as it is for us. It is not a stretch to say that tea marketers have advanced the particularly noble cause of human dialogue and friendship. In each case the offering was more an idea “ friendship, community, respect “ than a drink, and in each case the idea then created a reality. I have been offered tea at a British garden party, a Bedouin campfire, a Turkish carpet shop and a Japanese chashitsu, to name a few settings. Yet tea is, Rappaport makes clear, a world apart “ an astonishing success story in which tea marketers not only succeeded in conveying a sense of moral elevation to the consumer but also arguably did advance the cause of civilisation and community. And morality marketing is now a commodity as well, applied to food, "fair trade" apparel and eco-tourism. Commodity histories are now themselves commodities: recent works investigate cotton, salt, cod, sugar, chocolate, paper and milk. Indeed, it is a virtue that readers will be unable to guess her political orientation: both the miracle of markets and capitalism's dark underbelly are evident in tea's complex story, as are the complicated effects of British colonialism. ![]() Rappaport's treatment of her subject is refreshingly apolitical. While tea marketing always presented direct consumer benefits (health, energy, relaxation), tea drinkers were also assured that they were participating in a larger noble project that advanced the causes of family, nation and civilization. Lipton was soon advertising "from the Garden to Tea Cup" supply chains originating in British India and supervised by "educated Englishmen". An early version of the "farm to table" movement was sparked by anti-Chinese sentiment and concerns over trade deficits, as well as by the reality and threat of adulterated tea containing dirt and hedge clippings. During the Second World War, tea service was presented as a social and patriotic activity that uplifted soldiers and calmed refugees.īut it was tea's consumer-directed marketing by importers and retailers “ and later by brands “ that most closely portends current trade debates. Factory owners joined in, compelled by the cause of a sober workforce, while Christian missionaries discovered that tea "would soothe any colonial encounter". While abundant historical records have allowed the study of how tea itself moved from east to west, Rappaport is focused on the movement of the idea of tea to suit particular purposes.īeginning in the 1700s, the temperance movement advocated for tea as a pleasure that cheered but did not inebriate, and industrialists soon borrowed this moral argument in advancing their case for free trade in tea (and hence more open markets for their textiles). How did tea evolve from an obscure "China drink" to a universal beverage imbued with civilising properties? The answer, in brief, revolves around this conflation, not only by profit-motivated marketers but by a wide variety of interest groups. The sleights of hand that conflate consumption with virtue are a central theme in A Thirst for Empire, a sweeping and richly detailed history of tea by the historian Erika Rappaport. ![]() The passage below is accompanied by a set of questions. Read tons of stuff from Bharath's Curated Reading list and get a wonderful VARC score. The best way to improve your VARC skill is Reading. ![]()
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