On Garbage.

Scanlan, John

ISBN 10: 1861892225 / ISBN 13: 9781861892225

Published by London. Reaktion Books, 2005

About this Item

207 S. Kartoniert. Kanten leichtt berieben; Deckel und wenige Seiten mit kleinen Eckknickspuren; Seitenränder etwas gedunkelt, sonst gut. [K 127].

Seller Inventory # 16186AB

Bibliographic Details

• Title: On Garbage.
• Publisher: London. Reaktion Books
• Publication Date: 2005
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1861892225
• ISBN 13: 9781861892225
• Binding: Soft cover
• Condition: Gut
• Weight: 900 grams
• Seller catalogs:
  • Varia

About this title

Synopsis

How do we decide what is junk? The discarded remnants of our daily lives may no longer be useful to us, yet John Scanlan proposes in On Garbage that our trash is actually a treasure trove of artifacts that reveals intriguing insights into the modern human condition and the evolution of Western culture.

On Garbage is the first book to examine the detritus of Western culture in full range—not only material waste and ruin, but also residual or "broken" knowledge and the lingering remainders of cultural thought systems. Scanlan considers how Western philosophy, science, and technology attained mastery over nature through what can be seen as a prolonged act of cleansing, as scientists and philosophers weeded out incorrect, outmoded, or superseded knowledge. He also analyzes how disposal not only produces overwhelming mountains of waste, but creates dead bits of useless knowledge that permeate the reality of modern Western societies. He argues that physical and intellectual debris reveal new insights into the basic tenets of Western culture and, ultimately, that the abject reality of our disposable lives has led to us becoming the "garbage" of our times.

About the Author

John Scanlan is a cultural historian at the University of Central Lancashire. His previous books include On Garbage and Memory: Encounters with the Strange and the Familiar, both published by Reaktion Books.