Paris V 12 th November 2012 New and

Paris V, 12 th November 2012 New and Second hand in Italy. A sociological analysis Francesca Setiffi University of Padova (Italy) 1

Overview • Material culture: approaches of research • Social meaning of goods in western societies: “objectified-documentary” • Basis of the culture of the New and Second Hand in Italy • Open questions 2

Material culture: Approaches of research Three different approaches of study can be identified to analyse the concept of material culture: • Anthropological • Semiological • Socio-anthropological 3

Socio-anthropological approach The socio-anthropologic is based on: -the relational structures that are present in society, since they can synthesize the different forms of goods circulation. The circulation of objects materialises social relations. 4

A socio-antropological approach • Objects and goods represent the dark side of cultural phenomena, they are often considered as “trivial” and negligible in the study of social relations. • If we want to define the complex concept of culture we have first to define its visible and invisible components because they are necessary to define both the social tissue and the individual action. • “Objet banal, objet social” (Desjeux) 5

Spheres of consumption and Spheres of Source: Secondulfo, 1995 social communication Macro Micro 6

A documentary by Gary Hustwit 7

Consumption and material culture • According to Lipovetsky (2006), the inflation of novelty or the marketing of goods, with their reduced life-cycle, has become, especially in overstocked markets, a widespread commercial practice. • On the other hand, if we use the concept of material culture an implicit meaning emerges from objects and goods, a meaning that overcomes the manipulation of the media which is meant to increase short term purchases: the existence of a cultural construction, the “New”. 8

Consumption and Material Culture An example of the use of the concept of material culture applied to the analysis of social phenomena is the establishment of “the culture of the New”. As a form of consumption it carries the opposite meaning to the concept of Second hand culture. 9

The culture of the New vs Second hand cultures • The dichotomy between New/Used is investigated in order to highlight the different cultural characteristics of the two forms of consumption, even though it is clear that in consumer society the cultural line that separates new goods from used goods is blurred. • Kopytoff: “materialized” vs “de-materialized” world. 10

Planned obsolescence vs Culture of the New Studying the processes of business innovation and the practice of planned obsolescence require an understanding of company strategy. On the one hand, undertaking an analysis of a cultural construct - the New - means placing the consumer, who sometimes produces new forms of social meaning which go beyond the meanings ‘imposed’ by the system of production, at the centre of the research. 11

The culture of the New vs Second hand cultures • The “New” represents one of the primary sources of socialization towards the “normalization of consumption” in contemporary society, and it is a source of value and social recognition for the consumer. • What does a “new good” mean in opposition of a “second hand one”? 12

The culture of the New vs Second hand cultures Data: 50 semi-structured interviews and several periods of ethnographic research (e. g. itinerary methods). First phase: 2008 – London (four months) Second phase: 2008, 2009, 2010 - Italy, Veneto Region (North of Italy). Third phase: 2011 -2012: Italy, Veneto Region, joint research with Fabio Marzella. -Topic: Opposition New and Second hand 13

The culture of the New Four distinct dimensions: 1. 2. 3. 4. Progress Speed Fashion Confidence in the market 14

Progress and Speed • Progress. The advance of technological research expresses itself through consumer goods • Speed. This arises at two different times: at the moment of purchase and when the product is put to daily use. In the first case there is a sudden loss of the novelty value linked to ideas of the object as ‘pure’ and ‘without blemish’. In the second case, a clear split emerges in the perception of the objects touched or immune to change: fetish vs totem. 15

Fashion and Confidence -Fashion takes pride of place in the dimension of the New, with which it certainly shares the feature of high-speed change. The two concepts must be kept separate, however. -Trust in the market’s capacity to improve the quality of the products on offer and fashion are the locus of production and the circulation of novelty 16

Fetish vs Totem It appears more and more evident both for fetishes and totems that goods are endowed with a kind of ‘humility’ expressed through their reluctance to demonstrate a power able to determine what we consider “socially correct”. 17

Fetish vs Totem The totem, by contrast, as it relates to a bond – whether divine or affective – is an irreplaceable object that represents both the individual and their link with material culture (the community). Think about: the burning house project. 18

Burning house project • If your house was burning, what would you take with you? • It’s a conflict between what’s practical, valuable and sentimental. What you would take reflects your interests, background and priorities. Think of it as an interview condensed into one question. Link: http: //theburninghouse. com/ 19

Name: Aline Amorim Age: 21 Location: Patos de Minas - MG - Brasil Occupation: Environment Engineering Student List: Digital Photo Frame, Glasses, Camera, Tennis, Scrapbook, Wallet, Holy Bible, My favorite pens 20

Name: Josephine Tan Age: 23 Location: Kuala Lumpur - Sydney - Santiago de Chile Occupation: Economics Student List: Wallet with all my necessary cards and identification, Favourite handbag Canon DSLR EOS 450 D Macbook pro, Boo, my 21 -year-old bunny, Mum’s silver choker, Passport, Mobile phone, Different currencies 21

Second hand culture Many Italian families find themselves in financial difficulty. But recourse to second-hand goods is therefore not a choice either for those in financial straits or for those who are forced to lower their purchasing of consumer goods. 22

Second hand culture A reduced income compared to the past could favour the growth of the second-hand market, as maintained by Gregson and Crewe (2003); the culture of the second-hand implies a relationship between the individual and material culture that transcends the value of “second rate” compared to the first-hand market, where the dynamics of contamination and de-contamination are emphasized. 23

New versus Second hand In the market of the New, the speed of circulation and transformation of goods is directed towards the future, while in the Used the advance turns about-face, slowing the cultural processes of innovation through its discovery of the past. In brief: • New: future • Second hand: past 24

New versus Second hand -The process of “cultural decontamination” means to remove traces of previous owners. In other words to “purify the material culture” – individuals ritually try to remove physical and ideological impurities through “repairing, altering, cleaning and polishing”. 25

New versus Second hand In Italy second hand cultures has still a “negative” consideration related to poverty: a) immobility refers to the incapacity to move towards innovation (no negative or positive connotation intended) a) slowness relates to a reduction of planned obsolescence c) the centrality of the personal relationship highlights the interpersonal relationship 26

New versus Second hand But due to the economic and social crisis ideas, values and beliefs are changing: The lower-income groups use a material culture circuit based on social cooperatives or warehouse-shops located in the outskirts (e. g. the industrial areas); - the better off tend to use temporary shops located in the city centre while both middle- and higher-income groups get together for “swap-parties” and run courses to learn how to update their wardrobes in line with the latest fashions. 27

Swap party 28

What about vintage? 29

What about vintage? “Vintage”, on the other hand, is a cultural product that is intentionally “out of place” compared to current social trends. Since there is a residual (symbolic) “pollution/contamination” between the original owner and the new purchaser, vintage goods form a sphere of objects acquired especially by middle- and upperincome groups, even though it may become the target of the less well-off because the difference from “second hand” is not inherent to the object itself but lies in its communicative aspects. 30

Cycle of Material Culture Source: Secondulfo, 2012 31

References • • Desjeux D. , Garabuau-Moussaoui I. (eds. ) (1999), Objet banal, objet social: les objets quotidiens comme révélateurs des relations sociales, L’Harmattan, Paris. Gregson N. , Crewe L. (2003), Second-hand cultures, Berg Publisher, UK. Lipovetsky G. (2006), Le bonheur paradoxal. Essai sur la société d’hyperconsommation, Éditions Gallimard, Paris. Secondulfo D. (2012), Sociologia del consumo e della cultura materiale, Franco. Angeli, Milano. Secondulfo D. (2001), Family values and domestic interiors. A material-culture experiment using multi-technique analysis in Italian Sociological Review, 1, 1, pp. 16 -24. http: //www. italiansociologicalreview. org/attachments/article/74/2. Family%20 value s%20 and%20 domestic%20 interiors. pdf Secondulfo D. (1995), Ditelo coi fiori. Strutture del consumo e comunicazione sociale, Franco. Angeli, Milano. Setiffi F. (2011), Reflections on the Cultures of the New and the Second Hand in Italy in Italian Sociological Review, 1, 3, pp. 12 -20. http: //www. italiansociologicalreview. org/attachments/article/94/2. Reflections%20 o n%20 New%20 and%20 Second%20 Hand%20 Cultures. pdf Setiffi F. (2009), La mistica della merce. Relazioni, oggetti e costruzione della 32 realtà sociale, Qui. Edit, Verona.

Merci de votre attention 33