Fragile (Hi)stories: Materialities of Care in Everyday Life
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: This article explores how everyday inherited or purchased old objects facilitate material affinities within and beyond familial settings. Drawing on ethnographic research incorporating in-depth object interviews, we highlight how care and curation are intertwined and shaped by the intersections of individuals’ perceptions of objects’ value and their personal values. Our findings offer insight into how objects function as mediators through which to demonstrate care and values, highlighting three ways this is manifested: kinship ties , surrogate objects and the preservation of societal histories . In doing so, we contribute to wider understandings of material affinities, emphasising how care and curatorial practices inform and charge objects’ abilities to connect people to meaningful (hi)stories.
Source: Sociology
Language: English
Subfield: Archeology
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,900
OpenAlex ID: W7117750964