Overview

The Invention of Taste provides a detailed overview of the development of taste, from ancient times to the present. At the heart of the book is an intriguing question: why did the sensory attribute of human taste become a social metaphor and aesthetic value for judging cultural qualities of art, fashion, cuisine and other social constructions? Unique amongst the senses, taste is at once a biologically derived sense, private, personal and individual, yet also a sensibility which can be acquired, shared, and communicated. Exploring the many factors that defined the evolution of taste – from medieval morals and medicine to social and cultural philosophy, the rise of aesthetics, birth of fashion, branding trends, and luxury worship in the age of mass consumption – Luca Vercelloni’s ambitious text provides readers with an outstanding introduction to the subject, making it the cultural history of taste.Now available for the first time in English, Taste features a new final chapter and a preface by series editor David Howes. Rich in detail and examples, this interdisciplinary work is an important read for students and researchers in sensory studies, philosophy, sociology and cultural studies, as well as gastronomy, fashion, design, and branding.

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9781350048010

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Reviews

How and why was the rather trivial notion of 'taste' transferred to the noble domain of aesthetics, and thus displaced from kitchen to museum? Luca Vercelloni's brilliant answer to this philosophical puzzle thoroughly describes an amazing shift from the domain of senses and subjectivity to the classical notion of beauty as an objective and eternal value. -- Nathalie Heinich, National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), France To the growing literature on the cultural phenomenon of taste Luca Vercelloni brings the unique perspective of someone who works in the contemporary field of marketing and consumer behavior. Informed by history, philosophy, sociology and business, The Invention of Taste may be the only 360 exploration of distinction and desire that jibes with our lived experience and resonates with our time. -- Mitchell Davis, The James Beard Foundation, USA Anthropologists will certainly agree with Vercelloni's assertion...that a history and indeed an anthropology of taste is not only possible but important, and Vercelloni...has certainly done us a service in pinpointing aesthetics and taste as cultural constructions with a definite social history. -- Jack David Eller Anthropology Review Database

Author Information

Luca Vercelloni is the CEO and Founder of Brandvoyant, Italy

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