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Time pressure, speed and the desire for instant consumption pervade accounts of contemporary lives. Why is it that people feel pressed for time, in what ways have societies changed to create this condition, and with what implications? This book examines critical contentions in the field of time and society, ranging from the emergence and dominance of ‘clock time’ and time discipline, the time pressures associated with consumer culture, through to technological innovation and the acceleration of everyday lives. Through extensive analysis of empirical studies of the changing ways in which people organise and experience home, work, leisure, consumption and personal relationships, time press...
The Encyclopedia of Consumer Culture is the first reference work to outline the parameters of consumer culture and provide a critical, scholarly resource on consumption and consumerism.
This book reconstructs and extends sociological approaches to the understanding of food consumption. It identifies new ways to approach the explanation of food choice and it develops new concepts which will help reshape and reorient common understandings. Leading sociologist of food, Alan Warde, deals both with abstract issues about theories of practice and substantive analyses of aspects of eating, demonstrating how theories of practice can be elaborated and systematically applied to the activity of eating. The book falls into two parts. The first part establishes a basis for a practice-theoretic account of eating. Warde reviews research on eating, introduces theories of practice and constr...
This book critically reviews recent social scientific investigations of consumption, a controversial topic with moral overtones, and of popular public interest and political and economic significance. The author explores how consumption affects personal identity and social position, developing a sociological analysis using theories of practice to account for everyday consumption, its role in the social order, and its consequences for environmental sustainability. The book offers a controversial analysis which explains consumption not in terms of the purchasing of commodities but of the organization and coordination of daily practices. Consumption will be of interest to scholars and students of sociology, anthropology, geography, cultural studies, consumer research, business studies and social theory.
This open access book seeks to understand why we consume as we do, how consumption changes, and why we keep consuming more and more, despite the visible damage we are doing to the planet. The chapters cover both the stubbornness of unsustainable consumption patterns in affluent societies and the drivers of rapidly increasing consumption in emerging economies. They focus on consumption patterns with the largest environmental footprints, including energy, housing, and mobility and engage in sophisticated ways with the theoretical frontiers of the field of consumption research, in particular on the ‘practice turn’ that has come to dominate the field in recent decades. This book maps out what we know about consumption, questions what we take for granted, and points us in new directions for better understanding—and changing—unsustainable consumption patterns.
In Beyond 9 to 5, Sarah Norgate investigates the psychological, social, and cultural influences that affect the way we regard and are affected by time. Using everyday examples from around the world, her intriguing analysis unravels both the mental and biological mysteries of our relationships with time and provides a clear understanding of the links among behavior, brain, and genes. Norgate begins by musing on the origins of our obsession with punctuality; the conflicting practices of rushing and taking things slow; economy-driven proverbs from highly industrialized nations-Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today-and how they differ from beliefs and attitudes in more rural areas; ...
Exam Board: AQA Level: AS/A-level Subject: Sociology First Teaching: September 2016 First Exam: June 2017 Build students' understanding with this concept-driven approach to the 2015 AQA A-level Sociology specification, written by a team of leading subject authors and approved by AQA. - Develop the knowledge required to master Year 2 topics with clear and accessible content coverage - Build confidence in the evaluative skills needed to assess sociological theories and research - Strengthen learning and revision with a wealth of practice and extension questions and activities
Has material civilization spun out of control, becoming too fast for our own well-being and that of the planet? This book confronts these anxieties and examines the changing rhythms and temporal organization of everyday life. How do people handle hurriedness, burn-out and stress? Are slower forms of consumption viable? This volume brings together international experts from geography, sociology, history, anthropology and philosophy. In case studies covering the United States, Asia and Europe, contributors follow routines and rhythms, their emotional and political dynamics and show how they are anchored in material culture and everyday practice. Running themes of the book are questions of coordination and disruption; cycles and seasons; and the interplay between power and freedom, and between material and natural forces. The result is a volume that brings studies of practice, temporality and material culture together to open up a new intellectual agenda.
This book is a collection of empirical studies on China’s middle class from top-ranking Chinese sociologists, discussing this newly identified social stratum with regard to the basic concept and scope of the group, its functions, formation, identity, consumption, behavior patterns and value system. As the first study of its kind, the analysis of most chapters is based on a rich body of empirical data gathered from rigorous large-scale surveys designed specifically for the Chinese middle class across megacities including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. The book traces the complex and dynamic formation process of China’s middle class from different perspectives while dealing with issues of social concern such as “rigid social stratification”. The findings shed light on the underlying logic of structural change in Chinese society over several recent decades, with significant policy implications. The book will attract sociologists, students and policymakers interested in social structure, social transformation and middle-income groups in China.
Can fairy tales subvert consumerism? Can fantasy and children's literature counter the homogenizing influence of globalization? Can storytellers retain their authenticity in the age of consumerism? These are some of the critical questions raised by Jack Zipes, the celebrated scholar of fairy tales and children's literature. In this book, Zipes argues that, despite a dangerous reconfiguration of children as consumers in the civilizing process, children's literature, fairy tales, and storytelling possess a uniquely powerful (even fantastic)capacity to resist the "relentless progress" of negative trends in culture. He also argues that these tales and stories may lose their power if they are too...