Description
What does a coffee machine, a car, road signs, a smartphone, a cathedral, a work of art, a satellite, a bicycle, a washing machine, a bridge, a watch, a computer, the body of a prominent politician and a tractor have in common? Pretty much nothing – except for the fact that, no matter how small, large, important or insignificant something is, it rarely survives without being cared for. Every object eventually experiences wear and tear, it deteriorates, stops working or breaks down. But are we giving the care of things the recognition it deserves? A counterpoint to our modern obsession with innovation but less striking than the one-off act of restoration, the delicate act of making things last rarely attracts our attention.
This book disrupts our dominant narratives by putting those individuals skilled in the art of maintenance front and centre. Jérôme Denis and David Pontille shine a spotlight on the subtle aspects of caring for things, tracing the stories of those involved and, with them, the ethical challenges raised and political lessons learned. These people demonstrate a sensitivity and attentiveness to fragility; they encourage us to cultivate a material diplomacy in which wear is accepted and our relation to things becomes a matter of negotiation and compromise – a far cry from the frenetic rhythm of planned obsolescence inherent in hyper-consumerism. Maintenance demarcates the contours of a world in which we have relinquished the human longing for unlimited power and technological autonomy, a world where our attachment to things is more profound than we ever imagined.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
Introduction
The art of making things last
A transfer of attention
The vocabulary of humans and things
Pathways
Chapter 1: Maintaining
Beyond innovation
Repair and breakdown
A daily pulsation
Neither heroes nor heroines
Reassigning attention
Chapter 2: Fragilities
Societies repopulated with objects
The diplomacy of wear and tear
Care and things
Chapter 3: Attention
Displacements
Multisensoriality
Expertise
Vigilance
Attachments
Chapter 4: Encounters
Recalcitrance
Disassembly
Transformations
Worries
The dance of maintenance
Chapter 5: Time
Prolongation
Permanence
Slowing down
Stubbornness
From time to thing
Chapter 6: Tact
Adjustments
Surprises
Heritage diplomacies
Pathways inspired by environmental ethics
Ethics and the care of things
Chapter 7: Conflicts
Shortening the life of goods
The values of duration
The emancipation of use
Redistributed knowledge
The people of things
Responsibilities
Conclusion
Notes
Index
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