The Storied Life of Singularized Objects: Forces of Agency and Network Transformation

Amber M. Epp and Linda L. Price

Journal of Consumer Research, 2010, vol. 36, issue 5, 820-837

Abstract: Our study contributes to understanding the role of material culture in families. Findings from a longitudinal case study extend Kopytoff's theory of singularization by explaining what occurs between the singularization of a focal object and its recommodification. We uncover processes that move an already singularized object in and out of a network of practices, objects, and spaces; identify forces that constrain and empower a singularized object's agency within that network; and demonstrate network transformations that result from the focal object's movement. This extension explains some paradoxical findings in consumer research: how objects are granted agency even while displaced, when irreplaceable objects can be replaced, and why families sometimes displace central identity practices. (c) 2009 by JOURNAL OF CONSUMER RESEARCH, Inc..

Date: 2010
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:oup:jconrs:v:36:y:2010:i:5:p:820-837

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