Consumption

Alan Warde is Professor of Sociology and Professorial Research Fellow in the Sustainable Consumption Institute at the University of Manchester, UK. His research interests include consumption, culture and food.

“Consumption and consumers are topics held in high regard both among politically conscious activists and hard-bitten capitalists. The core of this book is an analysis of consumption of the more critical kind, suggesting that this concept may have become a Frankenstein’s monster of sorts for social sciences. … Warde’s argument unravels much more clearly. By ‘marketing’ this book as Consumption: A Sociological Analysis, he provides more than a well-devised, albeit messily written, academic prank.” (Jonas Bååth, Acta Sociologica, Vol. 61 (3), May, 2018)“Consumption is a valuable source of information that aims to offer a fruitful and deeper-level discussion of consumption while offering practical steps to building a fairer society. Consumption: a sociological analysis is recommended to scholars, students, and policymakers whose focus may include the study of globalization, capitalism, or consumption.” (Maximiliano E. Korstanje, Journal of International and Global Studies, Vol. 10 (01), December, 2018)

• 1. Introduction.- Part I: The Development of the Sociology of Consumption.- 2. Sociology and Consumption.- 3. The Development of the Sociology of Consumption.- Part II: Consumption and Practice.- 4. Consumption as Appropriation: On the use of ‘Consumption’ and Consumption as Use.- 5. Consumption and Theories of Practice.- Part III: Consumption, Taste and Power.- 6. Practice and Field: Revising Bourdieu’s Concepts.- 7. Re-assessing Cultural Capital.- Part IV: Consumption, Critique and Politics.- 8. Consumption and the critique of Society.- 9. Sustainable Consumption: Practices, Habits and Politics.- 10. Illusions of Sovereignty and Choice