Material Possession and Circulation. Outdated electronic appliances in Bolivia and the South-Central Andes

• Applicant: Dr. Eva Juliane Müller
• Subject Area: Social and Cultural Anthropology and Ethnology
• Term: from 2018 to 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 418836746

This project explores the transformation and (re-)evaluation of outdated electronic equipment in Bolivia from an economic anthropology and material culture approach. It follows the final life-cycle of appliances, looking at storage practices, repair and trading of extracted components and metals. Based on insights from my previous research on the market for electronic appliances in Bolivia and the Andean-Pacific, it analyses recycling practices and the circulation of residues at a moment of heightened material possession and waste production in a historical culture of scarcity and an ecologically fragile environment. By focusing on the everyday handling and forms of valuation of outdated electronics on the one hand, and trading practices and electronic waste regimes on the other, I aim to contribute to the literature on material culture, consumption and value in anthropology, and the emergent interdisciplinary field of (electronic) waste studies. This dual focus allows me to take alternative (local and regional) economic modalities and socio-material forms of valuation as a starting point to explore the global issue of electronic waste.

• DFG Programme: Research Fellowships
• International Connection: Spain
• Host: Professorin Susana Narotzky, Ph.D.