ABSTRACT
The epilogue deals with the overall aim of the Icelandic Grant of Excellence My Favourite Things (2018–2023) that was situated on an intersection between Material Culture Studies, History, and Museum and Archival Studies. Its main scholarly aim was twofold; (a) to investigate the material world of the Icelandic population in the late Modern Era as this is represented in ‘archives’ of written and material form, and the different relations and interactions between people and things implied in these archives; (b) to explore the tensions between these different archives, asking how they reflect the material past, and how the possible discrepancies between them may be dealt with. The approach was multidisciplinary, and the archives employed are indicative of this. This project started from the hypothesis that material culture in general can be active on its own terms, i.e. possess agency, and thus is rich in content. Acknowledging these ideas about material agency, implies that the human-material relation is reciprocal. Things not only reflect economy or social standing but are eminent players in the creation, maintenance and transition of human elements such as personhood and identity. Such a perspective on things as active parts of human society also demands an alternative attitude towards their life histories and ability to change status. The epilogue deals with this theoretical context.
