In Jules David Prown’s essay Mind in Matter he defines material culture as the “study through artifacts of the beliefs-values, ideas, attitudes and assumptions of a particular community or society at a given time” (1). Material items can serve as tangible objects to be studied, which as Prown writes, serve as “concrete evidence of the presence of human intelligence” (1). Martia Sturken’s essay Tourist of History illustrates this definition. Sturken explains that the snow globes of the OKC bombing and 9/11 reflect the attitudes of Americans following these tragedies; she writes “each object exemplifies the complex relationship of mourning and consumerism”. Sturken examines tangible objects (snow globes/teddy bears) to better understand American’s ideas. I agree with Sturken’s concept, that “comfort culture and the consumerism of kitsch objects of emotional reassurance are deeply connected to the renewed investment in the notion of American innocence” (5).
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Discussion 
I must admit prior to the readings for this week I didn’t notice the memorial sites of tragic national events as being lucrative venues for tourism but I did notice the somber tone of portraying the U.S. as innocent victims of such acts. I now understand the relevance in kitsch and how it relates to consumerism and how kitsch offers “formulas for grief” as seen with the “teddy bear culture” as explained in Tourists of History. (Sturken).
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The concept of “mourning and consumerism” really sticks out to me, especially when thinking of the few years after the 9/11 attacks. I couldn’t drive to the grocery store without seeing those little window flags or ribbon stickers on vehicles. Once I entered the store, people would have hats, pins, or tee shirts with American flags on them. The bags of chips, soda, cheese, milk, noodles, and almost every other type of food products would have flags or red white and blue “special edition” packaging. All of this used to drive me crazy because I couldn’t understand why it took a tragedy or a war for people to be patriotic. I guess tragedy is just good business.
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