Have you ever stumbled upon an old concert ticket and been instantly transported back to that night? Or felt a pang of nostalgia holding a worn-out book from your childhood? These objects are more than just stuff; they are anchors to our past, fragments of our identity. In his essay, "The Stuff of Life: Materiality and the Self," L.M. Sacasas invites us to consider the profound relationship between the material world and our sense of self, a connection that is being radically reshaped by our digital devices.
Sacasas argues that the things we use are not neutral. They don't just help us do things; they actively shape who we are. This idea is central to the DEVICES framework, which understands devices as instruments that mediate our experience and construct our reality. When we trade a collection of physical photo albums for a folder of images in the cloud, or a shelf of books for a single e-reader, we are not just making a change in storage preference. We are altering the very "texture" of our lives, smoothing out the unique, tangible experiences that help us build a stable sense of self over time. This lesson challenges us to look at the objects in our own lives and ask: how are they shaping me?
Learning Objectives
- Analyze the relationship between material culture and personal identity.
- Evaluate the impact of digitization on the texture of experience.
- Define and apply the concept of "liquid modernity" to contemporary life.
Key Concepts
Material Culture as Self-Anchor
The objects we live with are not merely passive tools; they are active participants in the construction of our identity. L.M. Sacasas, drawing on Hannah Arendt, suggests that the "things of the world" provide a crucial stability for the ever-changing human self. A physical book, for example, becomes a repository of personal historyâwe remember where we read it, who gave it to us, and the physical object itself can trigger a cascade of memories and associations. This aligns with the DEVICES framework's emphasis on embodiment; our tools and possessions become extensions of ourselves, shaping our habits, our memories, and our sense of who we are over time.
In a world of increasingly dematerialized, digital "things," Sacasas raises a critical question: what happens to the self when its material anchors are gone? The digital realm, with its uniform interfaces and lack of physical presence, risks flattening our experience and eroding the unique, textured relationship we have with the objects that populate our lives. The stability that Arendt saw in the "man-made world" is threatened when that world becomes less a collection of distinct objects and more a series of fleeting images on a screen.
Texture of Experience
Sacasas introduces the idea of the "texture of our experience" to describe the rich, multi-sensory quality of our interactions with the material world. Before the smartphone, for instance, navigating a new city involved a map, listening to music required a dedicated device, and taking a picture meant using a camera. Each of these activities had its own distinct material reality, its own unique "texture." The smartphone, by consolidating all of these functions into a single, smooth glass surface, fundamentally alters the texture of our experience. It makes life more convenient, but also more uniform and less differentiated.
This "smoothing out" of experience is a key aspect of how modern devices mediate our reality. The DEVICES framework helps us understand that this is not a neutral process. The shift from a world of varied, textured objects to a world of consolidated, digital interfaces has profound consequences for how we perceive and engage with our environment. It changes what we pay attention to, what we value, and how we relate to the world around us.
Liquid Modernity
To explain the broader cultural context of these changes, Sacasas turns to sociologist Zygmunt Bauman's concept of "liquid modernity." Bauman argued that contemporary life is characterized by a state of constant flux, in which solid, stable structuresâfrom institutions to identities to objectsâare replaced by fluid, temporary arrangements. Change is the only constant, and uncertainty is the only certainty.
This concept of "liquidity" powerfully connects the dematerialization of our world through digitization with the rise of a disposable consumer culture. Both trends contribute to a world where things are not meant to last, where permanence is devalued, and where our relationship to the material world is characterized by a sense of transience. For the DEVICES framework, this highlights how the material and the conceptual are intertwined. The disposability of our objects reflects and reinforces a broader cultural logic of liquidity, shaping our expectations and our very sense of what is real and what is lasting.
Assignment
Read L.M. Sacasas's essay "The Stuff of Life: Materiality and the Self." Pay close attention to his use of personal anecdotes and his engagement with thinkers like Hannah Arendt and Zygmunt Bauman. Consider how the concepts of "texture" and "liquidity" apply to your own relationship with technology.
Read: The Stuff of Life: Materiality and the Self Knowledge Check
Reflect on the key topics in this lesson.
1
Sacasas argues that physical objects "stabilize" our lives. What does he mean by this, and how does this relate to the DEVICES framework's emphasis on embodiment?
Hint: Think about the difference between a physical book and an e-book.
2
What does Sacasas mean by the "smoothing of the texture of our experience"? How does the smartphone serve as a key example?
Hint: Consider the variety of tools a smartphone replaces.
3
How does Zygmunt Bauman's concept of "liquid modernity" help explain the effects of both digitization and consumerism?
Hint: Think about the permanence of objects in both a digital and a disposable culture.
Additional Resources
Supplementary materials for deeper exploration.
The Human Condition
Arendt's classic work provides the philosophical grounding for Sacasas's reflections on the role of the "man-made world" in stabilizing human life.
Liquid Modernity
Bauman's influential book, from which Sacasas draws the concept of "liquid modernity" to describe the fluid and uncertain nature of contemporary life.