Memo+15-Core+Categories

This memo should identify at least two “core categories” that your research will flesh out, describing the material you can use to make them “dense.” The concept of a “core category” comes from the grounded theory tradition of sociology. See Strauss & Corbin (1990) Basics of Qualitative Research. Newbury Park: Sage.

Core Category 1:
"Sustainable Goods" -Is an object conflict as a product and a discursive item of tension -Any company that makes or utilizes bioplastics automatically claims sustainability -Consumers purchasing biobased goods consider the choice sustainable -Is immersed in the theoretical concept of material culture with farms, farmers, agrichemicals, biotech, consumers, manufacturers, regulators, standard boards, government agencies, waste haulers, composters, waste to fuel proponents, DARPA all are involved in varying degrees on how the products and technologies surrounding the products will look. -What role does each actor in each level of analysis have on the evolution of this technoscience, bioplastics ground the inquiry to enable moving from level to level without losing site of the project.

Core Category 2:
"Material Culture" -How does a society develop its culture, policies and institutions through tangible goods and techniques? -How and when does sustainability, green, appropriate, etc. develop in social consciousness and become embedded in technological innovation? -Can changes in the material of culture shift the 'material culture'? -What role does technology have on camoflauging social problems, e.g. does the promotion of bioplastics as a sustainable choice allow a culture of disposability, waste, cradle-to-grave, etc. continue to propogate. -If materials are produced by a small number of social actors, then what does this mean for the approriate shaping of culture?