New Forms of Consumption: Consumers, Culture, and Commodification

(Paperback)

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

New forms of consumption such as those facilitated by cyberspace, themed environments, the commodification of sex, and the increasing role of leisure in society all play new and interesting roles in daily life that combine consumerism with the most contemporary social forms. This book examines the recent ways in which consumerism has been studied with special emphasis given to these and other newly emerging topics. Part One provides a theoretical overview of consumption studies dealing with classical and more contemporary approaches in light of the debate between advocates and critics of postmodernism. Part Two emphasizes empirical studies of the commodification process. Part Three explores new forms of consumption on a more detailed and concentrated level. Mark Gottdiener currently teaches at the University of Buffalo.

Reviews

There is easily a large enough range here to ensure that students have a different topic to engage with interestingly each week of the semester. * Social Forces *
New Forms of Consumption engages the explosion of commodities and consumerism in the present era. Mark Gottdiener provides an excellent overview of classical and contemporary perspectives on consumption while his contributors provide an array of theoretical approaches and case studies that illuminate fields of consumption from McDonald's to mass tourism to sports, rock culture, and shopping. -- Douglas Kellner, UCLA; author of Media Culture and Media Spectacle and the Crisis of Democracy

Author Bio

Mark Gottdiener is professor of sociology at the State University of New York, Buffalo.