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Object Lessons is a series of short, beautifully designed books about the hidden lives of ordinary things.
Glitter reveals the complexity of an object often dismissed as frivolous. Nicole Seymour describes how glitter's consumption and status have shifted across centuries-from ancient cosmetic to queer activist tool, environmental pollutant to biodegradable accessory-along with its composition, which has variously included insects, glass, rocks, salt, sugar, plastic, and cellulose. Through a variety of examples, from glitterbombing to glitter beer, Seymour shows how this substance reflects the entanglements of consumerism, emotion, environmentalism, and gender/sexual identity.
Object Lessons is published in partnership with an essay series in The Atlantic.
List of contents
Diary Entry: Glitter in Quarantine
1. The Great Glitter Backlash
Glitter Bar: A Makeover Takeover!
2. "Feel the Rainbow!": Glitter as Tactic
Poetry Reading: CAConrad
3. "Too Much Bling": Glitter in Children's Entertainment
Interview: Machine Dazzle
4. Recrafting Glitter: The Sustainable Turn
Taste Test: Glitter Beer
5. Conclusion: Facing the Plasticene
Index
About the author
Nicole Seymour is Associate Professor of English at California State University, Fullerton, USA. She is the author of three books, including
Strange Natures: Futurity, Empathy, and the Queer Ecological Imagination (2013; Winner, 2015 Book Award for Ecocriticism from the Association for the Study of Literature and Environment) and
Bad Environmentalism: Irony and Irreverence in the Ecological Age (2019, Finalist, Book Award for Ecocriticism from the Association for the Study of Literature and Environment; "Best Nature Writing of 2018" list in the
Chicago Review of Books).
Summary
Object Lessons is a series of short, beautifully designed books about the hidden lives of ordinary things.
Glitter reveals the complexity of an object often dismissed as frivolous. Nicole Seymour describes how glitter’s consumption and status have shifted across centuries—from ancient cosmetic to queer activist tool, environmental pollutant to biodegradable accessory—along with its composition, which has variously included insects, glass, rocks, salt, sugar, plastic, and cellulose. Through a variety of examples, from glitterbombing to glitter beer, Seymour shows how this substance reflects the entanglements of consumerism, emotion, environmentalism, and gender/sexual identity.
Object Lessons is published in partnership with an essay series in The Atlantic.
Foreword
From Cleopatra to Coachella, this book tracks the enduring, emotionally-charged human relationship to glitter—a variously-composed object that reveals the gendered and sexualized ways we interact with our environment and respond to its crises.
Additional text
Glitter is an original, nuanced and thorough analysis that examines glitter’s significance beyond its usual connotations of frivolousness at best and environmental disaster at worst. As vibrant as the substance itself, Seymour’s thoughtful exploration situates glitter in current cultural and political contexts without dulling its shine. Positively dazzling!
Report
Hard facts, philosophical musings, and trivia galore commingle in this madcap toss of shimmery delight. Passport Magazine
