On Things and (Un)preparedness for Death – Cultural Practices of the Consumer Society

Marcin Jarząbek

konteksty@ispan.pl
Jagiellonian University (Poland)
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6807-0134

Abstract

 An overview and interpretation of the cultural practices of cleaning and attitudes toward objects in the face of one’s own death. Starting with the Swedish concept of “death cleaning” (döstädning) the author demonstrates how it became embedded in American consumer culture and its institutions, such as garage sales, moving to a senior centre, and decluttering. Due to the “invisibility of death” in contemporary Western culture, “cleaning up before death” has become in the United States another lifestyle offer, commercialized and professionalized. In conclusion, Marcin Jarząbek highlights difficulties associated with this practice as well as its importance for the self-awareness and effectiveness of those approaching death.


Keywords:

death, objects, consumer culture, America, death cleaning, decluttering, post-secularism

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Published
2024-12-23

Cited by

Jarząbek, M. (2024) “On Things and (Un)preparedness for Death – Cultural Practices of the Consumer Society”, Konteksty, 346(3), pp. 92–97. doi: 10.36744/k.2628.

Authors

Marcin Jarząbek 
konteksty@ispan.pl
Jagiellonian University Poland
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6807-0134

Marcin Jarząbek – historyk i oralista, adiunkt w Zakładzie Antropologii Historycznej i Teorii Historii Instytutu Historii UJ w Krakowie, a w 2023 roku profesor wizytujący w Skalny Center for Polish and Central European Studies University of Rochester. Badawczo zajmuje się historią społeczno-kulturową XIX i XX wieku, pamięcioznawstwem i historią pojęć społeczno-politycznych. Autor książek Legioniści i inni. Pamięć zbiorowa weteranów I wojny światowej w Polsce i Czechosłowacji okresu międzywojennego (2017) oraz Podręcznik do historii mówionej (2024). Prezes Krakowskiego Oddziału Polskiego Towarzystwa Historycznego.



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