Household Production as Prosumption and as an Industry in Twenti-eth Century German Consumer Society

This article takes as its starting point the close interweaving of production and consumption in private households in order to re-evaluate make-or-buy decisions and modes of provisions in modern, industrialized societies. It argues that consumer societies are actually “prosumption societies” wherein households combine their own labor, skills and time (production) with what they purchase on the market (consumption) to fabricate a diverse range of products, be it a cake, a sweater, or a new shoe rack. This article starts with conceptual reflections on the subject, and then analyzes instructions such as leaflets and public presentations as attempts to bridge the gap between purchased items such as edible ingredients, tools, or other kinds of materials on the one hand, and the prosumers who use them in their household on the other hand. The last part of the article explores prosumption as a high-profit market with particular marketing strategies during the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries.This article takes as its starting point the close interweaving of production and consumption in private households in order to re-evaluate make-or-buy decisions and modes of provisions in modern, industrialized societies. It argues that consumer societies are actually “prosumption societies” wherein households combine their own labor, skills and time (production) with what they purchase on the market (consumption) to fabricate a diverse range of products, be it a cake, a sweater, or a new shoe rack. This article starts with conceptual reflections on the subject, and then analyzes instructions such as leaflets and public presentations as attempts to bridge the gap between purchased items such as edible ingredients, tools, or other kinds of materials on the one hand, and the prosumers who use them in their household on the other hand. The last part of the article explores prosumption as a high-profit market with particular marketing strategies during the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries

Herausforderung soziale Teilhabe: Repair-Cafes als Orte inklusiver nachhaltiger Entwicklung?

In the past few years, debates increasingly emerge that discuss the potential of repair and DIY initiatives to contribute to inclusive and sustainable developments. It is argued that initiatives enable individuals to take responsibility for sustainable consumption. Moreover, they are said to promote citizen empowerment and collaborative practices and therefore strengthening social transformations processes towards sustainability. Currently, there is little research that looks at whether the empowerment of citizen through repair and DIY activities will be inclusive to all people and enable more sustainable consumption patterns. This paper develops first ideas, questions and categories to observe the possibilities and constraints for inclusiveness in repair cafés, enabling collaborative practise and creating seedbeds for social transformations. We draw on a social practice theory approach and normative (evaluation) perspectives for inclusiveness to empirically examine practices in repair cafés through participant observations

Vieldeutiges Selbermachen im Bergtal. Kulturelle, ökonomische und individuelle Praktiken des Maskenschnitzens

Carving of wooden carnival masks has been an autodidactic activity in the Lötschen Valley (Valais, Switzerland) since generations. It is only since the 1920s that the masks became objects of national identity and thus wooden souvenir masks were sold on a large scale between 1950 and the 1980s. The sale of carved masks was a major income source for many families in the valley. Today masks are economically irrelevant, but highly valued as identity objects of a symbolic system. The mass-production (sometimes mechanized) is followed by hand-carving, nowadays done by woodcarvers taking lessons or even being professionals. While the professional expertise is rising, the public values ›original‹ and ›naive‹ popular-art. In estimating the high cultural value of the hand-made objects, the public a s well as the woodcarvers neglect the fact that commercial and economic forces helped establish the very persistence of the masks to this day. In doing so, they also neglect the cultural transformations and the multimedial influences within the appearance of the ›individual‹ masks. Regardless of these contradictions, woodcarvers are addressed today as experts on multiple levels; they are selffulfilling individuals, nature and home loving carvers or experts on carnival rituals. The handmade cultural objects serve as tools to control individual rivalry as well as conflicts between the villages. The highly complex technical skills for carving masks act as barriers to prevent other people from carving and closing down the (presumed) openness of this DIY activ ity regarding symbolic capital

Verhältnisse reparieren: Wie Reparieren und Selbermachen die Beziehungen zur Welt verändern

Reparieren ist en vogue! Während im Wochentakt neue Repair Cafés eröffnet werden, dringt die Initiative "Schraube locker!?" mit ihrer Forderung für ein "Recht auf Reparatur" bis zur Europäischen Union vor. Ist dies die Renaissance einer verloren geglaubten Kulturtechnik oder handelt es sich lediglich um einen kurzlebigen Hype? Die Autorinnen tauchen ein in die vielfältige Welt der Laien-Reparatur, lassen Reparateur*innen durch Bilder, Zeichnungen und Zitate zu Wort kommen und beschreiben die Wirkung des Reparierens auf Identität, soziale Beziehungen und das Verhältnis von Mensch und Umwelt: Ein Plädoyer für mehr kreative Reparier-Experimente und die Förderung inklusiver Orte der gemeinschaftlichen Reparatur

Verhältnisse reparieren

Reparieren ist en vogue! Während im Wochentakt neue Repair Cafés eröffnet werden, dringt die Initiative »Schraube locker!?« mit ihrer Forderung für ein »Recht auf Reparatur« bis zur Europäischen Union vor. Ist dies die Renaissance einer verloren geglaubten Kulturtechnik oder handelt es sich lediglich um einen kurzlebigen Hype? Melanie Jaeger-Erben und Sabine Hielscher tauchen ein in die vielfältige Welt der Laien-Reparatur, lassen Reparateur*innen durch Bilder, Zeichnungen und Zitate zu Wort kommen und beschreiben die Wirkung des Reparierens auf Identität, soziale Beziehungen und das Verhältnis von Mensch und Umwelt: Ein Plädoyer für mehr kreative Reparier-Experimente und die Förderung inklusiver Orte der gemeinschaftlichen Reparatur

Wer ist Opfer, wer Täter, wenn es um Gewalt bei jugendlichen Paaren geht?

Eine Befragung unter Jugendlichen zeigt, dass verschiedene Formen der Gewalt in Paarbeziehungen z. T. weit verbreitet sind und dass sich Jungen und Mädchen bei einigen Formen kaum unterscheiden. Sind Jugendliche heute unfähig, gewaltlose Beziehungen zu führen

Making a Maker! Zur Bedeutung des Selbermachens mit Digitalen Medien in Technologieworkshops

The 'Maker Movement' has become relevant in our society in recent years. Public spaces such as FabLabs and Open Spaces have emerged, in which a a do-it-yourselfa approach using digital media takes place among like-minded people. Makers, their spaces and their products are enjoying growing social importance. Against the background of the digital divide, it is interesting to see how access to manufacturing workshops and the use of digital media is perceived by people who are not technophiles. The aim of this study is threefold. Firstly, the study investigates the importance of making and using digital media in technology workshops as a means of education for individuals not familiar with technology. Secondly, it analyses the way that learning takes place in these settings. Finally, it discusses whether access to technology and hence participation in a digital culture can be promoted