What is in a bag? Doing and becoming subjectivity

Abstract

This article explores the ways in which material objects relate to selfhood, by focusing on school bags – a personal item that is close to bodies, expressive but also used. We review scholar work on self with a specific focus that conceptualises self in relation to material objects. This review portrays the self as a unique, dynamic, experiencing subjectivity in terms of either self-awareness or as an agent of social order. Building on this framework we propose a new understanding of self as a doing and therefore becoming subjectivity in order to understand self-order – self towards itself and other selves. We build our argumentation through a field study consisting of exploration of online social media platforms, observation of students’ daily routines, and interviews with 23 high school students. We show that material objects like bags are companions of selfhood; necessary for the accomplishment of daily lives, so arguably enabling the self to live the life it desires, where this companionship extends to constructing self, establishing and maintaining life goals and relationships to other selves, thereby accomplishment of selfhood. It turns out, as we carry bags, bags carry out our very selves.