Just like home: The influence of consumption choices on recreating a sense of home

Garabet, Maria-Cristina

4. term

Culture, Communication and Globalization, Master

2014

2014-05-30

78

This thesis examines how transnationally mobile students in Aalborg, Denmark, use consumption and tangible objects to transform standardized student accommodation into places that feel like home. Drawing on literature on consumer culture, identity formation, and place attachment—where objects are treated as carriers of meaning and vehicles for communicating and stabilizing identity—the study explores multiple meanings of “home” and views the room as a private space for identity expression. The research is qualitative and employs participatory visual methods: participants produce auto-photographs of their rooms and meaningful items, which are then discussed through photo-elicitation interviews, with the material analyzed thematically. The aim is to identify patterns in consumption choices, the meanings attached to things and arrangements, and how these support identity work and a sense of home while living abroad. This excerpt presents the research question, theoretical framing, and methods; specific findings are not reported here.

Dette speciale undersøger, hvordan transnationalt mobile studerende i Aalborg, Danmark, bruger forbrug og konkrete genstande til at omdanne standardiserede studieboliger til steder, der føles som hjem. Med udgangspunkt i litteratur om forbrug, identitetsdannelse og stedstilknytning – hvor objekter forstås som bærere af betydning og som midler til at kommunikere og stabilisere identitet – belyser projektet de mange mulige forståelser af “hjem” og ser boligen som et privat rum for identitetsudtryk. Undersøgelsen er kvalitativ og anvender deltagerbaserede visuelle metoder: Deltagerne laver auto-fotografi af deres bolig og vigtige objekter, hvorefter billederne bruges i fotoeliciteringsinterviews, og materialet tematiseres analytisk. Formålet er at afdække mønstre i de studerendes forbrugsvalg, de betydninger, de tillægger ting og indretning, samt hvordan sådanne valg understøtter identitetsarbejde og en følelse af hjem under ophold i udlandet. Uddraget præsenterer forskningsspørgsmål, teoretisk ramme og metode; konkrete fund er ikke inkluderet her.

[This apstract has been generated with the help of AI directly from the project full text]

consumerism/consumption ; participatory visual methods ; auto-photography ; identity/identity-building ; home ; photo elicitation

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Garabet, Maria-Cristina:

• Travel preferences and tourism motivations – a comparison between Chinese and Romanian students in North Jutland (2017)