Repair, Brokenness, Breakthrough: Ethnographic Responses (Politics of Repair Book 1)

Exploring some of the ways in which repair practices and perceptions of brokenness vary culturally, __Repair, Brokenness, Breakthrough__ argues that repair is both a process and also a consequence which is sought out—an attempt to extend the life of things as well as an answer to failures, gaps, wrongdoings, and leftovers. This volume develops an open-ended combination of empirical and theoretical questions including: What does it mean to claim that something is broken? At what point is something broken repairable? What are the social relationships that take place around repair? And how much tolerance for failure do our societies have? CONTENTS List of Illustrations Introduction. Insiders’ Manual to Breakdown Snapshot 1. Head, Heart, Hand: On Contradiction, Contingency and Repair Chapter 1. Underwater, Still Life: Multi-species Engagements with the Art Abject of a Wasted American Warship Snapshot 2. Beyond the Sparkle Zones Chapter 2. ‘Till Death Do Us Part’: The Making of Home through Holding on to Objects Snapshot 3. ‘The Lady Is Not Here’: Repairing Tita Meme as a Telecare User Chapter 3. In the House of Un-things: Decay and Deferral in a Vacated Bulgarian Home Snapshot 4. Undisciplined Surfaces Chapter 4. A Ride on the Elevator: Infrastructures of Brokenness and Repair in Georgia Snapshot 5. Don’t Fix the Puddle: A Puddle Archive as Ethnographic Account of Sidewalk Assemblages Chapter 5. What Is in a Hole? Voids out of Place and Politics below the State in Georgia Snapshot 6. Maintaining Whose Road? Chapter 6. Dirtscapes: Contest over Value, Garbage and Belonging in Istanbul Snapshot 7. Repairing Russia Chapter 7. Village Vintage in Southern Norway: Revitalisation and Vernacular Entrepreneurship in Culture Heritage Tourism Snapshot 8. A Story of Time Keepers Chapter 8. Keeping Them ‘Swiss’: The Transfer and Appropriation of Techniques for Luxury-Watch Repair in Hong Kong Snapshot 9. Lost Battles of De-bobbling Chapter 9. Small Mutinies in the Comfortable Slot: The New Environmentalism as Repair Snapshot 10. Why Stories about Broken-Down Snowmobiles Can Teach You a Lot about Life in the Arctic Tundra Chapter 10. The Imperative of Repair: Fixing Bikes – for Free Snapshot 11. Repair and Responsibility: The Art of Doris Salcedo Chapter 11. Social Repair and (Re)Creation: Broken Relationships and a Path Forward for Austrian Holocaust Survivors Snapshot 12. Living Switches Chapter 12. Brokenness and Normality in Design Culture Snapshot 13. And Then You See Yourself Disappear Epilogue. This Mess We’re in, or Part of Index "What does it mean to claim that something is broken? What is the connection between tinkering and innovation? And how much tolerance for failure do our societies have? Exploring some of the ways in which repair practices and perceptions of brokenness vary culturally, Repair, Brokenness, Breakthrough argues that repair is an attempt to extend the life of things as well as an answer to failures, gaps, wrongdoings and leftovers. The set of contributions illustrates the strong affective power hidden in situations of disrepair and repair; broken objects often bring strong emotions into play, but also energising reactions of creative action"-- Provided by publisher