Capitalism and the Senses

Regina Lee Blaszczyk is Professor of Business History and Leadership Chair in the History of Business and Society at the University of Leeds.David Suisman is Associate Professor of History at the University of Delaware.

"[W]ell-researched and very thought provoking...[T]he value of the essays in Capitalism and theSenses lies partly in their informative historical narratives but, more importantly, in their capacity to make readers think in new ways about marketing and consumption, past and present. The commercialization of taste, sound, smell, and touch has had consequences for consumer culture and for society at large. The marketing of the senses, and how these practices intersect with gender, class, and race, or affect human and natural environments, should provide ample opportunities for further macromarketing research." (Journal of Macromarketing) "Industrial capitalism was bent on disciplining the senses in the interests of production. Consumer capitalism seeks to entice the senses to stimulate consumption. The tale of capitalism's shifting investments in the senses needs telling, and this book does so piercingly, brilliantly, sumptuously." (David Howes, Concordia University)

• Series Editor's ForewordRoger HorowitzIntroductionRegina Lee Blaszczyk and David SuismanPart I. Framing Capitalism and the SensesChapter 1. "Use Not Perfumery to Flavor Soup": The Science of the Senses in Aesthetic CapitalismAi HisanoChapter 2. Chasing Flavor: Sensory Science and the EconomyIngemar PetterssonChapter 3. Richer Sounds: Capitalism, Musical Instruments, and the Cold War Sonic DivideSven KubePart II. Resisting RationalizationChapter 4. Altered States and Gustatory Taste: The Sensory Synergies of Whiskey Marketing in the Mid-Twentieth-Century United StatesLisa JacobsonChapter 5. The Psychophysics of Taste and Smell: From Experimental Science to Commercial ToolAna María UlloaChapter 6. Sky's the Limit: Capitalism, the Senses, and the Failure of Commercial Supersonic Aviation in the United StatesDavid SuismanChapter 7. Sounding Maritime Metal: On Weathering Steel and Listening to Capitalism at SeaNicholas AndermanPart III. ProductionChapter 8. Making Human Trash Tasty: A History of Sweet Cattle Feed in the Progressive EraNicole Welk-JoergerChapter 9. Getting a Handle on It: Thomas Lamb, Mass Production, and Touch in Design HistoryGrace Lees-MaffeiPart IV. MarketplaceChapter 10. Fragrance and Fair Women: Perfumers and Consumers in Modern LondonJessica P. ClarkChapter 11. Sold on Softness: DuPont Synthetics and Sensory ExperienceRegina Lee BlaszczykChapter 12. Feminine Touches: The Sensory World of Lady HiltonMegan J. EliasNotesList of ContributorsIndex