Making home for a breathable life

Abstract

Home has long functioned in our daily lives as a material, social, and imaginary space for a breathable life. This article seeks to consider the relationship between technologies and making home for a breathable life. For this purpose, this article consists of three parts. First, it looks at the complex meaning of home adopted in the field of humanities and sociologies in Europe. In this process, it defines home as a place in which physical places and social experiences are constantly interacting and assembled. Additionally, it defines the home-making process as a sociomaterial practice constructed across private and public spaces. Next, it moves to examine how the process of creating a home is closely linked to the power relationship between majority and minority where class, gender, race, and disability intersect. These power relations, in particular, determine the ability to feel comfortable in public spaces and act as a key element in constituting the sense of home and homelessness. Next, it discusses the dominant discourse on technology presented as a solution to homelessness of the minorities and how it is combined with the homemaking process by them. Lastly, as an alternative, it suggests adopting ‘matters of care’, which feminist technology researchers have presented as a way of technology research to contribute to building a breathable life.