Unlocking the Love-Lock

The History and Heritage of a Contemporary Custom
1. Auflage 2021
ISBN: 978-1-78920-922-8
Verlag: Berghahn Books

Buch, Englisch, 260 Seiten, Format (B × H): 157 mm x 235 mm, Gewicht: 465 g

A padlock is a mundane object, designed to fulfil a specific – and secular – purpose. A contemporary custom has given padlocks new significance. This custom is ‘love-locking’, where padlocks are engraved with names and attached to bridges in declaration of romantic commitment. This custom became popular in the 2000s, and its dissemination was rapid, geographically unbound, and highly divisive, with love-locks emerging in locations as diverse as Paris and Taiwan; New York and Seoul; Melbourne and Moscow. This book explores the worldwide popularity of the love-lock as a ritual token of love and commitment by considering its history, symbolism, and heritage.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Houlbrook, Ceri

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Kunst Kunst, allgemein Kunstsammlung, Museen, Ausstellungen
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Soziologie Allgemein
• Interdisziplinäres Wissenschaften Wissenschaft und Gesellschaft | Kulturwissenschaften Museumskunde, Materielle Kultur, Erinnerungskultur

Inhaltsverzeichnis

List of Illustrations

Introduction

Chapter 1. Dating Love: A History of The Love-Lock Custom

Chapter 2. Consuming Love: Folk Custom and Popular Culture

Chapter 3. Excavating Love: The Material Culture of Love-Locking

Chapter 4. Locking Love: The Ethnography of Love-Locking

Chapter 5. Symbolizing Love: The semiotics of love-locking

Chapter 6. Selling Love: The Commercialization of Love-locking

Chapter 7. Unlocking Love: Controversy and Heritage

Concluding Thoughts: A Final Case-Study

Appendix 1

Appendix 2

Bibliography

Über Autor(innen)

Houlbrook, Ceri
Ceri Houlbrook attained her doctorate in Archaeology from the University of Manchester, and is a lecturer in Folklore and History at the University of Hertfordshire. Her primary research interests are contemporary folklore and the material culture of popular customs and beliefs. She has published previously on the British phenomenon of coin-trees and the history and folklore of concealed objects.

Ceri Houlbrook attained her doctorate in Archaeology from the University of Manchester, and is a lecturer in Folklore and History at the University of Hertfordshire. Her primary research interests are contemporary folklore and the material culture of popular customs and beliefs. She has published previously on the British phenomenon of coin-trees and the history and folklore of concealed objects.