This chapter gives an overview of the state of cross-disciplinary research into objects and emotions. It considers major intellectual works from the fields of archaeology, anthropology, art and design history, history, literary studies, philosophy, and psychology from the perspective of the history of emotions, in order to assess which current major directions in these fields may be most useful for those seeking to write affective histories of the material world. By investigating the critical history of objects and emotions and reflecting on the state of the field today, the authors offer an interdisciplinary frame for the essays that follow, outlining various methodologies and their implications for emotions research in the humanities in general.

Issue addressed Men in the Northern Suburbs of Launceston, Tasmania, experience substantially poorer health outcomes and socio‐economic disadvantage than most Australians. They are often described as “hard‐to‐reach,” meaning difficult to engage in research, health promotion, policy and planning. This paper summarises the OPHELIA process to combine health literacy profiling with engagement of local men in health promotion, and their experience of the process and outcomes. Methods Interviews were conducted to explore the experiences of middle‐aged men with the OPHELIA process and subsequent interventions. Results Local data and health literacy profiling revealed experiences of isolation, lack of trust in the system, medication non‐adherence, mental illness and chronic pain, which formed the basis for generation of ideas to improve their well‐being and understanding of health. Tailored interventions were implemented, including suicide prevention, “Numeracy for Life” and “Healthy Sheds” courses. Interviews with six participants revealed that the process contributed to a sense of worth, social support and ability to break “old habits.” Conclusions Prioritising the lived experience of “hard‐to‐reach” men through the OPHELIA process resulted in co‐design of interventions that were valued by participants. So what? Health literacy profiling and genuine community engagement can empower vulnerable, under‐represented communities to co‐design, and engage in, health promotion.

The deliberate concealment of clothing and footwear within the fabric of buildings has been broadly recognised as evidence of belief in the power of magic. Despite numerous examples of such concealments from across Europe and in areas of European migration, from the Middle Ages and later, there has yet to be discovered any direct documentation of this practice, an absence which poses methodological problems for historians attempting to understand it. This article examines the probable medieval origins of this phenomenon and poses some additional theoretical approaches towards explaining it.

This book is about the ways in which humans have been bound affectively to the material world in and over time; how they have made, commissioned, and used objects to facilitate their emotional lives; how they felt about their things; and the ways certain things from the past continue to make people feel today. The temporal and geographical focus of ...

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