Introduction

Abstract

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 ...

On Emotional Grounds: Private Communication of Muslims in Late Imperial Russia

“…65 Parents usually preserve the letters they obtain from their children, much more than the children pay attention to the writings of their parents; but later on, it is the offspring that inherits these collections, including their own letters. Previously, these letters had been of emotional value for elders back home, but when they passed away, the same items became precious objects of emotion 66 for their children, reminding them of their relationships with their parents. 67 This is also reflected in our case study: none of the letters addressed to Isma'il have survived; we only have what he wrote to others.…”