Lost Property and the Materiality of Absence

Helen Holmes,Ulrike Ehgartner

doi:10.1177/1749975520969007

Abstract

This article explores material loss and develops a new conceptual agenda. Synthesising and developing debates on the sociology of consumption and material culture in combination with those of the sociology of nothing, it argues that material loss is crucial to understanding people’s everyday relationships to the material world and to practices of consumption. Abstract notions of absence, nothingness and loss are becoming increasingly intriguing phenomena for sociologists interested in the everyday. However, whilst their theoretical connotations are being discussed more and more, empirical investigation into these phenomena remains somewhat (ironically) absent. This article draws on a recent project exploring lost property, based on qualitative interviews with lost property offices, households and museums. Developing previous work on material affinities and material culture, the authors argue that lost property reveals the enduring relationships people have with objects which are no longer in their possession. These relationships disrupt and develop contemporary debates on the sociology of consumption regarding how objects are devalued, divested and disposed of, as well as how they are acquired, appropriated and appreciated. In turn, we contend that the transformative potential of material loss and absence offers a way of thinking about alternative, non-material practices of accumulation.

Highlights

This article explores material loss and develops a new conceptual agenda
We argue that object loss and its antithesis, finding, disrupt defined stages of consumption, such as Warde’s (2005, 2014 – brought together by Evans, 2019) ‘3As’ – acquisition, appropriation and appreciation and Evans’ (2019) ‘3Ds’ – devaluation, divestment and disposal
We argue that just as lost objects disrupt the 3Ds of consumption, so finding an object can disrupt the 3As

Summary

Introduction

The sociology of nothing is an emerging area of sociological work. Posited by Susie Scott, it explores ‘negatively defined social phenomena, such as non-identity, nonevents, non-participation and non-presence’ (Scott, 2019: 2; see Scott, 2018). Devaluation refers to when goods and services no longer meet expectations, be that in terms of economic value or practical use; divestment refers to the processes of mentally and potentially physically distancing oneself from a commodity – not using it as much, not considering it as relevant to our everyday consumption; and disposal is how people remove items from their consumption practices – be that by throwing something away, giving it to charity or re-appropriating it elsewhere These moments of consumption are crucial for providing a framework of consumption activities, enabling scholars to think and research the social and material experiences and relations of consumption. We reveal how the transformative potential of loss and absence offers a way of thinking about alternative, non-material practices of accumulation as a response to overconsumption and the throwaway society; moving beyond progress-centred understandings of sustainability (Ehgartner et al, 2017)

Methodology

Conclusion