All That Glitters Is Not Garbage: Adventures In Rubbish Theory

All That Glitters Is Not Garbage presents a range of cases unified by the application of Rubbish Theory to explore the social processes through which objects come to be valued, preserved and discarded. Chapters discuss the production of art, the disposition of the possessions of the deceased and efforts to institute a Circular Economy. Other chapters address issues and topics beyond the solid objects that many in the Global North associate with Rubbish, from Chinese mining parks to Indigenous community tourism, from the history of Faroese wool to the legal personhood of nature and more. This book highlights how ordering processes around objects link to social organisation and conflict. Playful, creative and critical, it highlights the Rubbish Theory's value as a provocative, insightful tool for thinking about numerous social scientific topics.