Understanding graffiti: multidisciplinary studies from prehistory to the present

"This collection of original articles brings together for the first time the research on graffiti from a wide range of geographical and chronological contexts and shows how they are interpreted in various fields. Examples range as widely as medieval European cliff carvings to tags on New York subway cars to messages left in library bathrooms. In total, the authors legitimize the study of graffiti as a multidisciplinary pursuit that can produce useful knowledge of individuals, cultures, and nations. The chapters -represent 20 authors from six countries; -offer perspectives of disciplines as diverse as archeology, history, art history, museum studies, and sociology; -elicit common themes of authority and its subversion, the identity work of subcultures and countercultures, and presentation of privilege and status"--

Section I. Understanding the function of graffiti -- 1. On the origins of anonymous texts that appear on walls / Amardo Rodriguez -- 2. Latrinalia in a room of one's own: language, gender, place / Melissa Meade -- 3. Beyond art history: graffiti on frescoes / Véronique Plesch -- 4. Writing with a global accent: Cairo and the roots/routes of conflict graffiti / John Lennon -- Section II. Understanding the form and context of graffiti -- 5. Archeology and graffiti carved in Carpathian rock: the Thracian horseman, or an early medieval image of power and authority? / Dragoş Măndescu -- 6. Marked trees: exploring the context of Southern Rocky Mountain arborglyphs / Troy Lovata -- 7. Reclaiming the ruins: a case study of graffiti heritage interpretation at the Evergreen Brick Works in Toronto / Bruce Beaton and Shannon Todd -- 8. Ornament as armament: playing defense in wildstyle graffiti / Gabrielle Gopinath -- 9. From the street to the gallery: a critical analysis of the inseparable nature of graffiti and context / Alexandra K. Duncan -- Section III. Understanding graffiti as a witness for history -- 10. Graffiti as resistance: early prehistoric examples from the Casma Valley of Peru …