Garbage in Gotham

Garbage, broadly defined, is a complex category of material culture implicated in a host of environmental, political, and economic crises. At the same time, it encompasses a rich set of cultural assumptions, values, and traditions. How is what we call "trash" created, perceived, processed, ignored? What conventions allow it to be an acceptable, even inevitable part of daily life? What does it reveal about shifting definitions of value and worthlessness? These and other questions will shape a detailed exploration of discards in general and garbage in particular. Theoretical frameworks, drawn from interdisciplinary anthropology, will be complemented by field investigations and discard exercises.