Discard Studies: Wasting, Systems, and Power

Synopsis

An argument that social, political, and economic systems maintain power by discarding certain people, places, and things.Discard studies is an emerging field that looks at waste and wasting broadly construed. Rather than focusing on waste and trash as the primary objects of study, discard studies looks at wider systems of waste and wasting to explore how some materials, practices, regions, and people are valued or devalued, becoming dominant or disposable. In this book, Max Liboiron and Josh Lepawsky argue that social, political, and economic systems maintain power by discarding certain people, places, and things. They show how the theories and methods of discard studies can be applied in a variety of cases, many of which do not involve waste, trash, or pollution. Liboiron and Lepawsky consider the partiality of knowledge and offer a theory of scale, exploring the myth that most waste is municipal solid waste produced by consumers; discuss peripheries, centers, and power, using content moderation as an example of how dominant systems find ways to discard; and use theories of difference to show that universalism, stereotypes, and inclusion all have politics of discard and even purification—as exemplified in &“inclusive&” efforts to broaden the Black Lives Matter movement. Finally, they develop a theory of change by considering &“wasting well,&” outlining techniques, methods, and propositions for a justice-oriented discard studies that keeps power in view.

Copyright:

2022

Book Details

Book Quality:

Publisher Quality

ISBN-13:

9780262369510

Related ISBNs:

9780262543651

Publisher:

MIT Press

Date of Addition:

05/24/22

Copyrighted By:

Max Liboiron and Josh Lepawsky

Adult content:

No

Language:

English

Has Image Descriptions:

No

Categories:

Nonfiction, Outdoors and Nature, Technology, Politics and Government

Submitted By:

Bookshare Staff

Usage Restrictions:

This is a copyrighted book.