Each Wednesday, I write a post from my dissertation. According to Katherine Ott (2006) in The Scrapbook in American Life, “no scrapbook can present meaning without the collaboration of a reader, yet no reader (aside from the scrapbook maker) knows … Continue reading
Each Wednesday, I write a post that is from my dissertation. If you believe the media, we live in a divided world, however, scrapbooking brings people together. People are brought together as they share albums with one another. They are … Continue reading
Each Wednesday, I write a post from my dissertation. Scrapbooks contain narratives about the past. These narratives to some extent “must be fictionalized in order for us to make sense of our lives … in order to survive” (Mavor 1997:115). … Continue reading
Each Wednesday, I write a post from my dissertation. Many scrapbookers, if not most, edit photographs in one way or another. Photographs are edited from the beginning—when the photographer decides to take a photograph, something else remains unphotographed—to the end—when … Continue reading
Each Wednesday, I write a post from my dissertation. We live in a culture that focuses on the pretty. Fashion magazines are devoted to teaching us how to decorate our outside selves. Home improvement and decorating shows are devoted to … Continue reading
Each Wednesday, I write a post from my dissertation. In my study, I found that redoing a scrapbook page is rare. One scrapbooker talks about how she redid one layout three times before giving up on it. She does not … Continue reading
Last week, I told you about the importance of writing your story. Your story can be written in your own handwriting or typed up and printed out from a computer. If you are a digital scrapbooker, you can even have … Continue reading
Each Wednesday, I write a post from my dissertation. Many scrapbookers consider themselves addicted to scrapbooking. Newspaper reporters commonly describe scrapbooking as addicting, an obsession, and a passion. My respondents also use these terms when describing their or others relationship … Continue reading
Each Wednesday, I write a post from my dissertation. Is scrapbooking deviant? No. I suppose sometimes it could be considered deviant. I suppose sometimes a person could be a deviant scrapbooker. Is scrapbooking criminal? No. I suppose you could run … Continue reading
Each Wednesday, I write a post from my dissertation. Not only do handcrafters hide their “stash,” but Stalp (2006a; 2006b) finds that quilters hide their identity as quilter from both family and friends and Simonds (1992) finds that women readers … Continue reading
Stephanie Medley-Rath is a sociologist and scrapbooker who studies scrapbooking and memory keeping. Scrapworthy Lives is a blog focused on her sociological analysis of scrapbooking, with a sprinkling of posts about Stephanie's own scrapbooking projects.
