This collection of original ethnographically based research from five continents, provides insights into the dynamics of stability and change in our globalizing world. The chapters comprising Live Experiences of Public Consumption give a vivid account of how cultural and economic value intertwine at face-to-face encounters in marketplaces.
'Shattering the image of an impersonal market governed by the intersection of price and quality, Dan Cook and his talented collaborators demonstrate that shopping and buying involve rich social experience all the way down. What's more, they uncover that richness in distinctive places across most of the world.' - Viviana A. Zelizer, Lloyd Cotsen '50 Professor of Sociology, Princeton University, USA, and author of The Purchase of Intimacy
'This book is one of most encouraging signs that a rich, productive and fully integrated approach to economic life is finally in the making. Avoiding the dead-ends of both culturalism and economism, and with a seriously internationalist perspective, the contributors have genuinely fulfilled their promise to treat market, shopping and consumption practices as 'lived experiences'.
- Don Slater, Reader in Sociology, London School of Economics, UK, and author of Consumer Culture and Modernity
'One of the most important concepts to draw from this book is that the rational actor still exists, but rationality is not all in operation, and detail with which that concept is illustrated makes this an engaging read for those interested in consumption and its construction.' - Ryan Denniston, Accounts - ASA Economics Sociology Section Newsletter
'This book is one of most encouraging signs that a rich, productive and fully integrated approach to economic life is finally in the making. Avoiding the dead-ends of both culturalism and economism, and with a seriously internationalist perspective, the contributors have genuinely fulfilled their promise to treat market, shopping and consumption practices as 'lived experiences'.
- Don Slater, Reader in Sociology, London School of Economics, UK, and author of Consumer Culture and Modernity
'One of the most important concepts to draw from this book is that the rational actor still exists, but rationality is not all in operation, and detail with which that concept is illustrated makes this an engaging read for those interested in consumption and its construction.' - Ryan Denniston, Accounts - ASA Economics Sociology Section Newsletter