Abstract:
In this dissertation, I posited the need to understand how an invented community (the Society for Creative Anachronism) constructs symbolic meaning in material objects and value systems. Using ethnographic methods, I focused on the Knights and their regalia as this is the most widely accepted material symbolism. People go to the SCA to find the communitas offered by a fantastical performed history. They create the material culture in order to enhance the atmosphere they seek in their mediated performance of history. This material culture then gains value, as it becomes imbued with the emotional contexts provided by the performance and embodied history. As American culture becomes increasingly fragmented, with place-bound community becoming a thing of the past, it is important to understand how humans adapt. One method of adaptive behavior is the construction of communities around beliefs, hobbies, products, or vocations. The SCA is one such example.
