Possessed: A Cultural History of Hoarding

Rebecca R. Falkoff's book Possessed explores how hoarding, once seen as economic rationality, became a mental illness due to the accumulation of objects with little or no value or utility. It analyzes themes and structures of hoarding across literary and visual texts, tracing the fraught materialities of the present to cluttered spaces of modernity. The ebook editions of the book are available as Open Access volumes from Cornell Open and other Open Access repositories.

\n Format: Paperback / softback
\n Length: 264 pages
\n Publication date: 15 May 2021
\n Publisher: Cornell University Press
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In her book "Possessed: How Hoarding Became a Mental Illness," Rebecca R. Falkoff delves into the intriguing transformation of hoarding, once perceived as a rational economic practice, into a mental illness. This unique disorder stands out among the others listed in the American Psychiatric Association's DSM-5 as it necessitates the presence of a tangible entity known as a hoard. Falkoff's work explores the hoard as an aesthetic object, shaped by contrasting perspectives on the meaning and value of objects.

The 2000s have witnessed a growing cultural fascination with hoarding, particularly in the context of individuals whose possessions overwhelm their living spaces. Contrary to traditional economic explanations of hoarding, which revolve around stockpiles of precious metals or grains, contemporary hoarding involves the accumulation of items with little or no monetary value or practical utility. By examining themes and structures of hoarding across a diverse range of literary and visual texts, including works by authors such as Nikolai Gogol, Arthur Conan Doyle, Carlo Emilio Gadda, Luigi Malerba, Song Dong, and E. L. Doctorow, Falkoff traces the intricate materialities of the present to cluttered spaces of modernity. These spaces include bibliomaniacs' libraries, flea markets, crime scenes, dust heaps, and digital archives.

"Possessed" reveals how the figure of the hoarder has come to symbolize the economic, epistemological, and ecological conditions of modernity. Through generous funding from New York University and its participation in TOME (Toward an Open Monograph Ecosystem), the ebook editions of this book are available as Open Access (OA) volumes from Cornell Open (cornellpress.cornell.edu/cornell-open) and other Open Access repositories. This accessibility ensures that the insights and knowledge contained within the book reach a broader audience, fostering understanding and dialogue about this complex phenomenon.

\n Weight: 360g\n
Dimension: 139 x 216 x 22 (mm)\n
ISBN-13: 9781501752803\n \n