Sassatelli Consumer Culture

History, Theory and Politics
1. Auflage 2008
ISBN: 978-1-84860-727-9
Verlag: SAGE Publications
Format: PDF
Kopierschutz: 1 - PDF Watermark

E-Book, Englisch, 248 Seiten, Format (B × H): 170 mm x 242 mm

'Roberta Sassatelli has written a thorough and wide-ranging synthetic account of social scientific research on consumption which will set the standard for the second generation of textbooks on cultures of consumption. Consumer Culture is an appealing and lucid introduction to the major themes - historical and contemporary, theoretical and empirical - surrounding the growth, nature and consequences of consumer culture. It will be of professional interest as well as serving a student audience'- Alan Warde, University of ManchesterShowing the cultural and institutional processes that have brought the notion of the 'consumer' to life, this book guides the reader on a comprehensive journey through the history of how we have come to understand ourselves as consumers in a consumer society and reveals the profound ambiguities and ambivalences inherent within. While rooted in sociology, Sassatelli draws on the traditions of history, anthropology, geography and economics to give:- A history of the rise of consumer culture around the world,- A richly illustrated analysis of theory from neo-classical economics, to critical theory, to theories of practice and ritual de-commoditization, and - A compelling discussion of the politics underlying our consumption practices.An exemplary introduction to the history and theory of consumer culture, this book provides nuanced answers to some of the most central questions of our time.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Sassatelli, Roberta

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Soziologie Allgemein

Inhaltsverzeichnis

THE RISE OF CONSUMER CULTURE
Chapter 1: Capitalism and the Consumer Revolution
Consumption, Production and Exchange
The Genesis of Consumer Capitalism
From Courts to Cities, from Luxuries to Fashion
Chapter 2: The Cultural Production of Economic Value
Commodity Flows, Knowledge Flows
The Invention of the Consumer and the cultural trajectories of good
Consumer Society as Historical Type
THEORIES OF CONSUMER AGENCY
Chapter 3: Utility and Social Competition
The Sovereign Consumer
The Limits of Economic Rationality
Fashion, Style and Conspicuous Consumption
Beyond Emulation
Chapter 4: Needs, Manipulation and Simulation
From Commodity Fetishism to Critical Theory
Nature, Authenticity and Resistance
Post-Modern Pessimism

Social Relations and Consumption
Chapter 5: Taste, Identity and Practices
Taste and Distinction
Cultural Classification and Identity
Appropriating Commodities
Ambivalence and Practice
THE POLITICS OF CONSUMPTION
Chapter 6: Representation and Consumerism
The Anti-Consumerist Rhetoric and the Apology of Consumption
Advertising Cultures and their Languages
The Functions and Meanings of Ads
Ideology, Social Differences and Consumerism

Chapter 7: Commodities and Consumers
Commoditization and De-commoditization
Goods, Values and the Boundaries of Commoditization

The Normalization of Consumption
Chapter 8: Contexts of Consumption
Leisure, Commercial Institutions and Public Places
The Home, the Commercialization of Feelings and Cultural Consumption
Local Consumption in Mcdonaldized settings
Alternative Consumption and Social Movements

Über Autor(innen)

Sassatelli, Roberta
Roberta Sassatelli is Professor of Sociology at the Department of History and Cultures of the University of Bologna. She works on the sociology of consumer culture, sustainability and consumption, gender and the body and food culture and practices.