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This volume addresses the dynamics of materiality over time and space. In cross-cultural, multi-temporal and interdisciplinary studies the authors examine how things gain meaning and status, generate a multitude of emotions, and feed into the propagation of myths, narratives and discourses. The book is divided according to four themes: soft objects, stoic stories, consuming and the collectable, and waste and technologies. The first section discusses the meanings of the lived environment on the individual and national levels. The second section provides specific examples on the role of things in identity construction. The third section focuses on historical and contemporary aspects of consumption and collecting. The phenomena under scrutiny in the fourth section are moral dilemmas associated with and representations of dirt/waste and advancements in science and technology. Presenting diverse case studies of material culture, the volume points to rich interdisciplinary approaches in cultural theory.

Une définition précise de la « culture numérique » passe par une description de ceux qui participent à son élaboration et par un détour historique qui nous précise les termes de la culture de l'écrit. Les lettrés du numérique semblent plus répandus au sein des disciplines qui font un grand usage des ordinateurs et des réseaux. Leur culture « technique » leur permet d'élaborer une critique de l'internet et d'investir le champ des humanités numériques. Ils sont accompagnés par quelques représentants des sciences sociales et par des « hackers », plus proches de l'université qu'on ne le croit. En revanche, le grand public subit plus cette nouvelle culture qu'il n'y contribue. Car les multinationales de l'écrit sont les premiers façonneurs de cette culture de l'écrit contemporain, au point d'en dessiner les normes morales et politiques. ; A precise definition of Digital Culture needs a description of people involved in its development and a historical detour that tells us how written culture was built. Digital scholars seem more prevalent among disciplines that make extensive use of computers and networks. Their technical culture allows them to develop a critique of the internet and to invest the field of Digital Humanities. They are accompanied by some representatives of the social sciences and by "hackers", closer to the University than we imagine. However, the public at large suffers more this new culture rather than contributing to it. For the multinationals are the major shapers of this modern written culture, to the point of designing the moral and political standards.