Paper short abstract:

We focus on the socializing effects of classrooms' materiality - on the impact of artefacts as elements of a symbolic universe that affects students and teachers. By analyzing photos we look at the interplay of "agents" and "actants" that qualifies differently in regard to habitual dispositions

Paper long abstract:

Although classrooms are such spaces that have strong socializing effects, they are hardly objects of research within social sciences. This explicit research-gap applies also for educational research.

Nevertheless, recently some effort is observable to analyze classrooms in regard to their architectural designs in order to uncover their social effects. Based on different theoretical backgrounds, the interactional complexity of space, agent and artefact is centre of their focus. We would like to contribute to this discussion with our paper. It deals with the significance and impact of things and artefacts within classrooms. We cannot not consider those things to be lifeless matter or neutral objects. Moreover we define them as elements of a symbolic universe that affects both students and teachers in a sustained manner. Theoretically referring to the work of Bruno Latour (2005) we investigate the interplay of "agents" and "actants" and focus on the idiosyncratic materiality of classrooms. We assume that certain dimensions of materiality, but also room structure as well as construction material, has both exclusive and inclusive agency concerning its usage. More precisely, classroom's materiality qualifies for students differently in regard to their individual dispositions. Our special research interest lies exactly on detecting these powerful effects of different dimensions of materiality.

In order to do so, we analyse photographs of classrooms in both Switzerland and Germany. Methodologically we draw on the concepts of visual ethnography (Pink 2001). By analysing contrasting material with respect to different school types and school milieus we reconstruct certain aspects of culture within classrooms, which lie in different dimensions of materiality.