Developing a Framework of Dis-domestication : The Dis-domestication of Furniture in Norwegian Households

Abstract

This thesis contributes to and further develops the work on domestication by STS scholars to include the process of disposal. Based on the study of furniture disposal in Norwegian households I develop what I call a framework of dis-domestication. Through developing the framework, I describe the process of disposal by identifying practices and strategies, material properties and perceptions, as well as major social influences and the interplay between these. The thesis departs from an environmental concern regarding waste production. The increasing production of waste is an environmental issue widely discussed around the world, and the Norwegian government has articulated waste prevention to be a key measurement to address this problem in Norway. Prolonging the life of goods is important to reduce resource depletion, energy use and pollution. It is therefore important to understand the whole process of the life cycle of artefacts. The particular case of furniture is interesting from an STS perspective as they are artefacts that are substantially visible and subjected to social rituals. I found the properties of furniture to change and get lost through changes both in the materiality of the furniture, and through external influences from the wider social surroundings, where the external influences seem more significant to the process of dis-domestication. Changing life phases particularly affect the dis-domestication of furniture in Norwegian households. I have identified several strategies and practices that are applied to perceptually flawed furniture.