Comfort, Cleanliness and Convenience: The Social Organization of NormalityOver the past few generations, expectations of comfort, cleanliness and convenience have altered radically, but these dramatic changes have largely gone unnoticed. This intriguing book brings together the sociology of consumption and technology to investigate the evolution of these changes, as well the social meaning of the practices themselves. Homes, offices, domestic appliances and clothes play a crucial role in our lives, but not many of us question exactly how and why we perform so many daily rituals associated with them. Showers, heating, air-conditioning and clothes washing are simply accepted as part of our normal, everyday lives, but clearly this was not always the case. When did the daily shower become de rigueur? What effect has air conditioning had on the siesta at one time an integral part of Mediterranean life and culture? This book interrogates the meaning and supposed normality of these practices and draws disturbing conclusions. There is clear evidence supporting the view that routine consumption is controlled by conceptions of normality and profoundly shaped by cultural and economic forces. Shove maintains that habits are not just changing, but are changing in ways that imply escalating and standardizing patterns of consumption. This shrewd and engrossing analysis shows just how far the social meanings and practices of comfort, cleanliness and convenience have eluded us. |
Contents
Constructing Normality | 21 |
Interdependence | 43 |
Acquiring and Using Air | 49 |
Copyright | |
16 other sections not shown
Other editions - View all
Comfort, Cleanliness and Convenience: The Social Organization of Normality Elizabeth Shove No preview available - 2003 |
Common terms and phrases
air-conditioning analysis appliances appropriation argue ASHRAE associated bathing and showering bathroom Bijker body Bushman and Bushman chapter clean clothing co-evolution co-ordination coherence comfort and cleanliness concepts of comfort configurations consequence construction consumer Consumers Union consumption contemporary context convergence culture defined demand described detergents devices dimensions dirt discourses domestic dryer dynamics energy English Regency environmental escalation everyday expectations explain Figure freezers global habits Hobbits household ideas important indoor climate indoor environment innovation integration involved landscapes large technical systems laundering laundry material meaning mechanisms path dependency ratcheting rationales reconfiguration regimes relation relevant reproduced respecification response routines scheduling scientific sense significance Silverstone social society sociotechnical systems sociotemporal specific standards structure suggests sustainable symbolic system of systems technical technology and practice temporal theories thermal comfort things thinking tion transformation tumble dryer understanding Unilever users washing machines Wilhite