Cecilia Ruvalcaba - Böcker

This series epitomizes the 2017 ConsumerCulture Theory (CCT) conference themes of hyper-reality and culturalhybridization. The partnership of the co-editors, with diverse backgroundsincluding Caribbean, Mexican and Indian roots, itself depicts culturalhybridity, culminating in a series of fascinating articles written by authorsfrom around the globe. The eleven research papers provide a global perspective ona range of consumer discourses both in the physical marketplace (research onmobility practices within the transportation market in Vietnam; or anexamination of stigma in beef consumption practices in India), or in thevirtual marketplace (a study of the discourses surrounding the mythic nature ofBitcoin creator, Satoshi Nakamoto; or parental management understood throughthe media marketplace experiences of black women in Britain). The conference’sBest Competitive Award paper is featured; a compelling look at hyper-realitywithin the world of the Broadway musical, Wicked,examining how new media platforms are used to appeal to new and existingconsumers. This series also includes two insightful papers on wine producersand their cultural intermediaries, and on wine tourism, where the authorstraverse the globe to better understand market development and consumerengagement respectively. Whether it be an examination of consumer tribes,breast cancer and gender identity, or product gender and design, these authors collectivelyprovide us with unique and riveting perspectives on consumer and marketplace experiences.The series fittingly culminates with a critical look at the emergence of theCCT tradition; an emergence that is both timely and important as this seriesdemonstrates.