Consumer Culture: History, Theory And Politics

Description:
'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 Manchester Showing 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.

Table of Contents:
THE RISE OF CONSUMER CULTURE Capitalism and the Consumer Revolution Consumption, Production and Exchange The Genesis of Consumer Capitalism From Courts to Cities, from Luxuries to Fashion 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 Utility and Social Competition The Sovereign Consumer The Limits of Economic Rationality Fashion, Style and Conspicuous Consumption Beyond Emulation Needs, Manipulation and Simulation From Commodity Fetishism to Critical Theory Nature, Authenticity and Resistance Post-Modern Pessimism Social Relations and Consumption Taste, Identity and Practices Taste and Distinction Cultural Classification and Identity Appropriating Commodities Ambivalence and Practice THE POLITICS OF CONSUMPTION 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 Commodities and Consumers Commoditization and De-commoditization Goods, Values and the Boundaries of Commoditization The Normalization of Consumption 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