Elusive Consumption

Author:   Karin M. Ekström ,  Helene Brembeck
Publisher:   Taylor & Francis Ltd
ISBN:  

9781859737637


Pages:   256
Publication Date:   01 March 2004
Format:   Hardback
Availability:   In Print   Availability explained
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Elusive Consumption


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Overview

In the context of rising consumerism and globalization, books on consumption are numerous. These tend to be firmly rooted in particular disciplines, however - sociology, anthropology, business or cultural studies - and as a result often present a blinkered view. Charged with the mission of unravelling what consumption means and how it operates, the world's leading experts were flown to a secluded location in Sweden to 'battle it out'. This pioneering book represents the outcome. Ranging from the 'little black dress' to on-line communities, Elusive Consumption challenges our very understanding of consumerism. How successful is the advertising world in manipulating our buying patterns? Does the global marketplace promote cultural homogeneity or heterogeneity? Is the West really more of a 'consumerist civilization' than other countries? Does the advertising of certain products influence a voter's choice of political party? How are products associated and marketed to different genders? These controversial topics and many more are discussed. Covering virtually every aspect of the word 'consumerism', Elusive Consumption provides a state-of-the-art view of the highly commercialized society we inhabit today. Some might have it that consumers are unwitting pawns, completely lacking in agency. Others might argue that consumer choices are empowering and subtly shape production. Richard Wilk, Colin Campbell, John F. Sherry, Richard Elliott, Russell Belk, and Daniel Miller - who offers the most persuasive argument in this battle royal?

Full Product Details

Author:   Karin M. Ekström ,  Helene Brembeck
Publisher:   Taylor & Francis Ltd
Imprint:   Berg Publishers
Dimensions:   Width: 15.60cm , Height: 2.00cm , Length: 23.40cm
Weight:   0.690kg
ISBN:  

9781859737637


ISBN 10:   1859737633
Pages:   256
Publication Date:   01 March 2004
Audience:   College/higher education ,  General/trade ,  Tertiary & Higher Education ,  General
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print   Availability explained
This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us.

Table of Contents

Notes on Contributors, Introduction, 1. Morals and Metaphors: The Meaning of Consumption, 2. I Shop therefore I Know that I Am: The Metaphysical Basis of Modern Consumerism, 3. Culture, Consumption and Marketing: Retrospect and Prospect, 4. The Human Consequences of Consumer Culture, 5. Multiculturalism in the New World Order: Implications for the Study of Consumer Behaviour, 6. The Little Black Dress is the Solution, but what is the Problem?, 7. Making Up People: Consumption as a Symbolic Vocabulary for the Construction of Identity, 8. Gender, Technologies and Computer-mediated Communications in Consumption-related Online Communities, 9. Dreams of Eden: A Critical Reader-Response Analysis of the Mytho-Ideologies Encoded in Natural Health Advertisements, 10. Is the Modern Consumer a Buridan’s Donkey? Product Packaging and Consumer Choice, 11. Visual Consumption in the Image Economy

Reviews

'This provocative collection from a stellar cast of consumption scholars demonstrates that, after all, consumption need not be elusive, if it is pursued with an eclectic sense of interdisciplinary possibility.' Douglas B. Holt, Harvard Business School 'One can choose to study fish or one can choose to study the environment they swim in. Many traditional academic market researchers are like those who study the fish. Contributors to this volume are like those who opt to study the water. One can argue about which approach leads to catching more fish. My bet lies with those who explore the environment especially when a multidisciplinary lineup with the intellectual firepower on offer in this volume leads the race to discovery.' Eric J. Arnould, CBA Agribusiness Programs, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, USA 'This is a provocative collection that reflects some of the diverse approaches trying to make sense of the xceptionally complex field of


Author Information

Karin M. Ekstrm is Associate Professor, Director and Research Leader at the Centre for Consumer Science, Gothenburg. Helene Brembeck is Associate Professor and Research Leader at the Centre for Consumer Science, Gothenburg.

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