Abstract
This book is a part of a series exploring social issues in the twenty-first century. The primary social issue addressed in this book is the lack of control that individuals feel living in a large post-industrial society. The act of doing it yourself (DIY) allows individuals to feel more in control of the world around them. The author uses a range of examples from the history of the back to the land movement to home schooling and community gardens to explore this topic. The focus on strategies for solving rather than defining a social problem allows this book a unique place in an undergraduate social problems curriculum. Its focus on applying sociological theories and concepts to real-world experiences has merit, but the narrow focus and limited sociological concepts explored reduce its utility.
Three sociological concepts are explored: Habermas’s colonization of the lifeworld and the Marxist concepts of alienation and mystification. The author proposes that people utilizing a DIY strategy are seeking to minimize the influence of the state and/or market on their everyday lives, thereby decolonizing their lifeworld or private lives. This major focus of the book is explored through a range of examples of DIY. The author also shows that, at times, DIY efforts are disrupted by government regulations or the need to utilize the market in order to purchase supplies or instructions for projects. This discussion of barriers to full decolonization opens up the gray areas of thought so important to the advancement of critical thinking skills among undergraduate students.
In addition, the author integrates the Marxist concepts of alienation and mystification through discussing how DIY can overcome these challenges of the modern world. For instance, DIY allows individuals to remove alienation through direct relationships between producers and consumers. The author uses a variety of examples to demonstrate this strategy including farmers’ markets and craft fairs. Finally, demystification occurs as individuals become more familiar with the process of production. By doing it yourself, you are able to be directly involved in the production process, thereby demystifying the process. There is merit to the author’s real-world application strategy in that it assists students in acquiring better comprehension of the concepts.
There are three chapters that explore real-world examples of DIY: home and food, school and work, and government and media. In this way students can find an area of interest for themselves as they analyze the key concepts of the book. I especially like the discussion of the history of the back to the land movement. It provides students with grounding in both past and current motivators for this type of DIY effort. In addition, a range of levels of efforts from communes to backyard gardens are presented allowing for both micro- and macro-level views of DIY.
This utilization of a range of examples is one strength of the book. The author is clear that DIY is not a social movement because of the disconnects and diversity of those doing DIY. The main focus of people doing DIY is their own efforts rather than any macro-level social change. Wehr does define three levels of people involved in DIY: individuals, coordinators, and lifestylers. It is the lifestylers who most fully adopt a DIY philosophy of life. Yet even when these individuals unite with other likeminded individuals, it is likely not for social change but for individual freedom.
From a pedagogical standpoint the book has some utility. I think it would be a useful addition to an undergraduate social problems course. Because it is short, only 72 pages, it can be easily integrated into a fuller curriculum. The angle of exploring solutions for a social problem may make it ideal for later in the semester after some social problems have been defined and an analytical framework has been established. Because of the range of DIY efforts explored, it is likely that students will find a DIY area that interests them. In fact, the real-world application of sociological concepts is the major advantage of the book.
Instructors may choose to have students select this book from a list of books with real-world application. This will allow students to analyze real-world application of sociological concepts in an area of interest to them. In other words, it may be best not to require this book as reading for a course but to offer it as an option for a read and write project. Students can select a book from the Routledge Social Issues Collection, or other books can be added to the list of options. I feel real-world application of sociological concepts is indispensable in sociological education. Allowing students options so that they can explore areas that interest them will enhance students’ interests and their learning. Because of its narrow focus, my recommendation is that DIY: The Search for Control and Self-reliance in the 21st Century be offered as a reading option for those who are interested in the subject area and need to analyze real-world application of sociological concepts rather than as a required text.