Dialectics of the household: technological objects as a social mediator

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to examine a few issues concerning social relationships in (and with) the household. In this context, these relationships take on a specific characteristic: they are mediated by objects, especially technological ones. The importance these objects have for the household of the interviewees will be substantiated throughout this paper, also keeping in mind the way they are chosen, which depends on the role they will have for people. The narratives that provide the basis for this study were collected in Porto (north of Portugal) between 2011 and 2013, during the research for my doctorate in Anthropology of Technology[i]. Having these narratives as a starting point, the material culture of the household will be regarded as a way to understand some of the structuring processes of identity and social relationships within the timeframe of modernity[ii].