Discard Studies

Wasting, Systems, and Power

Max Liboiron, Josh Lepawsky

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English

MIT Press
07 June 2022

Political science & theory

An argument that social, political, and economic systems maintain power by discarding certain people, places, and things.

An argument that social, political, and economic systems maintain power by discarding certain people, places, and things.

Discard studies is an emerging field that looks at waste and wasting broadly construed. Rather than focusing on waste and trash as the primary objects of study, discard studies looks at wider systems of waste and wasting to explore how some materials, practices, regions, and people are valued or devalued, becoming dominant or disposable. In this book, Max Liboiron and Josh Lepawsky argue that social, political, and economic systems maintain power by discarding certain people, places, and things. They show how the theories and methods of discard studies can be applied in a variety of cases, many of which do not involve waste, trash, or pollution.

Liboiron and Lepawsky consider the partiality of knowledge and offer a theory of scale, exploring the myth that most waste is municipal solid waste produced by consumers; discuss peripheries, centers, and power, using content moderation as an example of how dominant systems find ways to discard; and use theories of difference to show that universalism, stereotypes, and inclusion all have politics of discard and even purification-as exemplified in ""inclusive"" efforts to broaden the Black Lives Matter movement. Finally, they develop a theory of change by considering ""wasting well,"" outlining techniques, methods, and propositions for a justice-oriented discard studies that keeps power in view.

By: Max Liboiron, Josh Lepawsky
Imprint: MIT Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 203mm, Width: 133mm,
Weight: 369g
ISBN: 9780262543651
ISBN 10: 0262543656
Pages: 128
Publication Date: 07 June 2022
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Acknowledgments vii 1 An Introduction to Discard Studies 1 2 The Scales of Waste: A Theory of Relationality 35 3 Insides and Outsides: A Theory of Power 61 4 There's No Such Thing as We: A Theory of Difference 97 5 Discarding Well: A Theory of Change 125 References 153 Index 195

Max Liboiron is Associate Professor of Geography at Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador and the author of Pollution is Colonialism. Josh Lepawsky is Professor of Geography at Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador and the author of Reassembling Rubbish (MIT Press).

Reviews for Discard Studies: Wasting, Systems, and Power

Discard Studies is a valuable pedagogical tool. It flows like poetry, painting a vivid and insightful perspective without being overtly dense. Apart from accessibility, this book posits a new methodological imperative that is doable... Dismantling power structures is not a one-way process; Discard Studies shows that we can rebuild only by constantly challenging the power structures we have inherited. [O]ne of those books that you will want to sit with and let occupy your being for a while, if not forever. -H-Net Reviews