Topic
Consumption (sociology)
About: Consumption (sociology) is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 2139 publications have been published within this topic receiving 59852 citations.
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Book•
01 Jan 1925
TL;DR: In this, his most famous work, Marcel Mauss presented to the world a book which revolutionized our understanding of some of the basic structures of society as mentioned in this paper, identifying the complex web of exchange and obligation involved in the act of giving, and called into question many of our social conventions and economic systems.
Abstract: In this, his most famous work, Marcel Mauss presented to the world a book which revolutionized our understanding of some of the basic structures of society. By identifying the complex web of exchange and obligation involved in the act of giving, Mauss called into question many of our social conventions and economic systems. In a world rife with runaway consumption, The Gift continues to excite and challenge.
3,197 citations
TL;DR: The concept of the subculture of consumption solves many problems inherent in the use of ascribed social categories as devices for understanding consumer behavior as discussed by the authors, which is based on three years of ethnographic fieldwork with Harley-Davidson motorcycle owners.
Abstract: This article introduces the subculture of consumption as an analytic category through which to better understand consumers and the manner in which they organize their lives and identities Recognizing that consumption activities, product categories, or even brands may serve as the basis for interaction and social cohesion, the concept of the subculture of consumption solves many problems inherent in the use of ascribed social categories as devices for understanding consumer behavior This article is based on three years of ethnographic fieldwork with Harley-Davidson motorcycle owners A key feature of the fieldwork was a process of progressive contextualization of the researchers from outsiders to insiders situated within the subculture Analysis of the social structure, dominant values, and revealing symbolic behaviors of this distinct, consumption-oriented subculture have led to the advancement of a theoretical framework that situates subcultures of consumption in the context of modern consumer culture and discusses, among other implications, a symbiosis between such subcultures and marketing institutions Transferability of the principal findings of this research to other subcultures of consumption is established through comparisons with ethnographies of other self-selecting, consumption-oriented subcultures
2,105 citations
Book•
01 Jan 1987
TL;DR: In this article, a theory of mass consumption is proposed, with a focus on consumption object domains, ideology and interests towards the theory of consumption, and material culture: material culture artefacts in their contexts.
Abstract: Part 1 Objectification: Hegel and objectification Marx - objectification as rupture Munn - objectification as culture Simmel - objectification as modernity. Part 2 Material culture: material culture artefacts in their contexts. Part 3 Mass consumption: the study of consumption object domains, ideology and interests towards a theory of consumption.
1,659 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors elaborate on various key ideas about consumption and consumer from a theoretical position that they have labeled "liberatory postmodernism." By unmasking the limitations of modernism that have to do with the onerous nature of its metanarratives and narrow conventionalism, they show that postmodern developments offer alternate visions of consumption processes that have an emancipatory potential.
Abstract: In this article, we elaborate on various key ideas about consumption and consumer from a theoretical position that we have labeled "liberatory postmodernism." By unmasking the limitations of modernism that have to do with the onerous nature of its metanarratives and narrow conventionalism, we show that postmodern developments offer alternate visions of consumption processes that have an emancipatory potential. The analysis in our article begins with a discussion of the philosophical foundations of modernism and postmodernism followed by a cultural critique of modernism-exposing, for example, the modernist distinction between production and consumption and the privileging of production over consumption. We demonstrate how postmodernism is concerned with the reversing of the conditions of modernity and with a wide range of issues regarding the construction of the subject (i.e., the consumer), the role of the symbolic in consumption processes, the notion of the spectacularization of life, the creation of the hyperreal, and the cultural signification of fragmentation. We conclude the article with a proposal for an epistemology of consumption that subsumes scientific knowledge under a broader category of narrative knowledge and recognizes multivocality of consumption forms.
1,560 citations
Book•
13 Dec 2016
TL;DR: The authors The Miraculous status of consumption, the Vicious circle of growth, and the social logic of consumption towards a theory of consumption personalization or the Smallest Marginal Difference (SMD).
Abstract: THE FORMAL LITURGY OF THE OBJECT Preface - George Ritzer The Miraculous Status of Consumption The Vicious Circle of Growth THE THEORY OF CONSUMPTION The Social Logic of Consumption Towards a Theory of Consumption Personalization or the Smallest Marginal Difference (SMD) MASS MEDIA, SEX AND LEISURE Mass-Media Culture The Finest Consumer Object The Body The Drama of Leisure or the Impossibility of Wasting One's Time The Mystique of Solicitude Anomie in the Affluent Society CONCLUSION On Contemporary Alienation or the End of the Pact with the Devil
1,530 citations