Sociological Analysis

Words: 1468
Pages: 6

While the material culture of everyday objects has been a common subject of sociological analysis, there is a range of conceptual approaches a sociologist may take, which will naturally affect resulting theories. To illustrate this, two studies with contrasting views of objects and their position in the social world will be examined: Ariztia’s study of material culture in the home decoration practices of families in Chilean, and Baker’s ethnography on object exchange within online rock fan communities. First, the general approach each author takes regarding the nature of objects and material culture will be discussed. The two studies’ forms of analysis will then be compared and contrasted to show the variation in their approaches. To begin, Ariztia’s study focuses on the home decor and arrangement of household objects in the residences of families in a neighborhood in Chile, and their relation to social class and mobility in the context of cultures assembled in the area. The analysis is based on data from fieldwork conducted in Santiago, including interviews with families as they moved in. …show more content…
93). He interprets homemaking practices as being grounded in personal and social meanings, with decoration as a means to appropriate a residence into a home. Ariztia’s analysis of materiality crucially does not reduce these objects to symbols of social divisions. Instead, he argues the practice of decoration results in the active production of class and culture (p. 95). This is emphasized by his focus on personal accounts of social belonging in decoration choices, as the arrangement of old possessions in a new home requires the production and consideration of individual narratives of social mobility and is therefore not a neutral process (p.