Scrapbookers determine what is scrapworthy by sifting through the photographs they have taken or been given of moments from their life. Photographs are not taken continuously but are taken selectively. Scrapbookers then have to label a moment as scrapworthy in … Continue reading
Scrapbookers may play with boundaries through scrapbooking. Nippert-Eng (2005:304) argues that two conditions must be met in order for boundary play to occur: First, players must possess a shared, normative expectation for where one draws the line between two semiotically … Continue reading
Scrapbookers lump together items they consider scrapworthy and split them from the rest which they consider to be not scrapworthy (i.e., trashworthy or forgettable). Scrapworthiness is shaped by how scrapbookers classify their lives within their scrapbooks. For example, a scrapbooker … Continue reading
Respondents struggle with explaining why they make the choices they do as far as what is included in the scrapbook, especially after the photograph(s) and journaling were accounted for. Most commonly, respondents say they do not know why they chose … Continue reading
In my dissertation, I wrote: Scrapbookers “frame” memories to be remembered in scrapbooks, implying that all other memories can be discarded or ignored (see Zerubavel 1991; 1997; 2006). Scrapbookers are deciding which memories are scrapworthy—or are worth remembering. To be … Continue reading
Other sociologists have also studied scrapbooking. I wanted to take a post to discuss the following quote from Goodsell and Seiter (2010:4-5). They argue: [t]here are multiple layers of reality [in a scrapbook]: what happened, the pictures of what happened, … Continue reading
I was struck by Mat Honan’s recent article in Wired Magazine, The Quality of Your Smartphone’s Camera is Only Half the Picture. He writes: Photos have become just as ephemeral as the moments we’re trying to capture. His criticism is based … Continue reading
There are lots of ways to manage a child’s memorabilia. As a scrapbooker, I’ve been a bit torn. Do I scrapbook all the artwork? Do I scan it and create a photobook and then toss it? Do I just throw … Continue reading
When I first read this post about sentimental clutter on Unclutterer, I felt somewhat defensive. What troubled me the most was point 2: You should focus on living, not preserving. Only hold onto sentimental items that you can find a … Continue reading
Each Wednesday, I write a post based on my study on scrapbookers. As a person becomes a scrapbooker, they have a tendency to begin keeping their camera with them (this is even easier now because most of us have cameras … 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.
