Texas wildfire survivors’ narratives and the meaning of everyday objects

Abstract

This study suggests the importance of focusing on lost objects after disasters and gauging the emotional registers and impacts of object loss to best understand and assist in wildfire victims' recovery process. Because objects and materiality are a focus of research in the sociology of culture and the sociology of emotions, I assess these sub-field of interest in object and emotion, along with surveying the various fields dealing with disasters and their aftermaths. Participants were from a small, semi-rural community in the central hill country of Texas. A participant-observer design allowed for working alongside fire survivors. Grounded theory and situational analysis frameworks were used to analyze 54 survivors' narratives related to the importance of everyday household objects in their recovery– things resurrected from the wildfire. The findings suggest that it would be wise to ponder material objects in situated context—in a new manner and with new respect.