The Care of Things

What does a coffee machine, a car, road signs, a smartphone, a cathedral, a work of art, a satellite, a bicycle, a washing machine, a bridge, a watch, a computer, the body of a prominent politician and a tractor have in common? Pretty much nothing – except for the fact that, no matter how small, large, important or insignificant something is, it rarely survives without being cared for. Every object eventually experiences wear and tear, it deteriorates, stops working or breaks down. But are we giving the care of things the recognition it deserves? A counterpoint to our modern obsession with innovation but less striking than the one-off act of restoration, the delicate act of making things last rarely attracts our attention.

This book disrupts our dominant narratives by putting those individuals skilled in the art of maintenance front and centre. Jérôme Denis and David Pontille shine a spotlight on the subtle aspects of caring for things, tracing the stories of those involved and, with them, the ethical challenges raised and political lessons learned. These people demonstrate a sensitivity and attentiveness to fragility; they encourage us to cultivate a material diplomacy in which wear is accepted and our relation to things becomes a matter of negotiation and compromise – a far cry from the frenetic rhythm of planned obsolescence inherent in hyper-consumerism. Maintenance demarcates the contours of a world in which we have relinquished the human longing for unlimited power and technological autonomy, a world where our attachment to things is more profound than we ever imagined. Acknowledgements

Introduction
The art of making things last
A transfer of attention
The vocabulary of humans and things
Pathways

Chapter 1: Maintaining
Beyond innovation
Repair and breakdown
A daily pulsation
Neither heroes nor heroines
Reassigning attention

Chapter 2: Fragilities
Societies repopulated with objects
The diplomacy of wear and tear
Care and things

Chapter 3: Attention
Displacements
Multisensoriality
Expertise
Vigilance
Attachments

Chapter 4: Encounters
Recalcitrance
Disassembly
Transformations
Worries
The dance of maintenance

Chapter 5: Time
Prolongation
Permanence
Slowing down
Stubbornness
From time to thing

Chapter 6: Tact
Adjustments
Surprises
Heritage diplomacies
Pathways inspired by environmental ethics
Ethics and the care of things

Chapter 7: Conflicts
Shortening the life of goods
The values of duration
The emancipation of use
Redistributed knowledge
The people of things
Responsibilities

Conclusion

Notes
Index

"For years, the dynamic duo of Denis and Pontille have been producing some of the best work on maintenance and repair out there – full stop. This new translation is a landmark contribution, and one we’ll be reading and learning from for years to come."
Steven J. Jackson, Professor of Information Science and Science and Technology Studies, Cornell University

"This is a spirited book that, with its large array of cases, will gradually get you sensitised to the fragility of a great diversity of things, so that you come to admire the hands-on experts who nurture stuff and tools, rather than tolerating their decay."
Annemarie Mol, author of The Logic of Care and Eating in Theory

"This book makes the thinking around maintenance into a timely intervention, creating a distinctive proposition that will appeal to a broad readership. The writing is beautiful and accessible, without losing in theoretical sophistication. The thinking is philosophical and ethnographically rich at the same time, and the book combines and deploys a remarkable depth of scholarship, careful attention to empirical detail and stories, as well as a generous approach to theorising."
María Puig della Bellacasa, author of Matters of Care

Jérôme Denis is Professor of Sociology at Mines Paris-PSL.

David Pontille is Director of Research at CNRS.