Introductory description

“Life is not complete without shopping” (Chua, 2003). This module investigates globalised commercial cultures and explores the production of consumption by looking at processes of ‘cultural intermediation’. The will provide an in-depth critical understanding of the sociology of consumption as it explores the operations of global capitalism by understanding how commodified goods, services and experiences are produced. We will look at practices of humdrum and spectacular consumption, at the growth of brand cultures and at how marketing and advertising try to generate feelings in consumers. We will study consumer cultures in developed and emerging economies to critically consider the promises and seductions of the world of goods, services and experiences. Some questions we will consider include: is a globalised commercial culture homogenising? Is ethical consumption possible? Does a good commercial worker have to be an active consumer? Are we always ‘working’ as consumers to generate value in capitalism?

Module web page

Module aims

Outline syllabus

This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.

1. Global Capitalism and the interconnections of production and consumption
2. Customers, consumers and consumption
3. Advertising
4. Design, Fashion and Cultural Intermediaries
5. Marketing and market devices
6. Reading week
7. Brands, fakes and dupes
8. Service work and the production of consumption
9. Consumer work and the co-creation of value
10. The ethics of consumption

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

• Critical understanding of global consumer capitalism and its implications for social life.
• Understand the processes through which global capitalism operates with particular attention to how end consumption is generated; understand, the implications for social life of a market society.
• Compare the operation of global capitalism in developed and emerging economies; demonstrate in-depth critical understanding of a specific region.
• Understand and articulate sociological arguments as to how consumption is affected by a complex, global culture industry and be able to build arguments as to the implications of this for understanding of subjectivity

Indicative reading list

Appadurai, A. (1996). Modernity at Large: Cultural Dimensions of Globalization. Minneapolis and London: University of Minnesota Press.
Araujo, L. (2007). Markets, market-making and marketing. Marketing Theory, 7(3), 211-226.
Arvidsson. A. (2006). Brands: Meaning and value in media culture. London: Routledge.
Arvidsson,A. (2007). Creative Class or Administrative Class? On Advertising and the "Underground". Ephemera: theory & politics in organization, 7(1), 8-23.
Arvidsson, A. (2008). The Ethical Economy of Customer Coproduction. Journal of Macromarketing, 28(4), 326-338. doi:10.1177/0276146708326077
Banks, M. (2006). Moral Economy and Cultural Work. Sociology, 40(3), 455-472.
Bohme, G. (2003). Contribution to the critique of the aesthetic economy. Thesis Eleven, 73(1), 71- 82.
Carah, N. & Brodmerkel, S. (2020). Critical perspectives on brand culture in the era of participatory and algorithmic media. Sociology Compass, 14(2). doi: 10.1111/soc4.12752.
Chua, B. H. (ed.) (2000) Consumption in Asia: lifestyles and identities. London: Routledge.
Cochoy, F. (2010). How to Build Display That Sell. Journal of Cultural Economy, 3(2), 299-315. doi:10.1080/17530350.2010.494380
Du Gay, P. (2004). Devices and dispositions: Promoting consumption. Consumption, Markets and Culture 7(2), 99-105.
Entwistle, J. (2006). The Cultural Economy of Fashion Buying. Current Sociology, 54(5), 704-724.
Fuentes, C., & Fuentes, M. (2023). Making alternative proteins edible: market devices and the qualification of plant-based substitutes. Consumption and Society, 2(2), 200-219.
Gamble, J. (2011). Multinational Retailers and Consumers in China. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Gerosa, A. (2024). The Hipster Economy: Taste and authenticity in late modern capitalism. London: UCL Press.
Hanser, A. (2007). Is the customer always right? Class, service and the production of distinction in Chinese department stores. Theory and Society, 36(5), 415-435. doi:10.1007/s11186-007-9042-0
Hesmondhalgh, D. (2002). The Cultural Industries. London: Sage.
Julier, G. and Moor L. (2009). Conclusion: Counting creativity. In: Design and Creativity: Policy, Management and Practice. Oxford and New York: Berg, pp. 256-272.
Kong, L. (2005). The sociality of cultural industries: Hong Kong’s cultural policy and film industry. International Journal of Cultural Policy, 11(1), 61–76.
Maguire, J. S., & Matthews, J. (2014). The Cultural Intermediaries Reader. Los Angeles: Sage.
Maguire, J. S., & Matthews, J. (2010). Cultural Intermediaries and the Media: Cultural Intermediaries. Sociology Compass, 4(7), 405-416. doi:10.1111/j.1751-9020.2010.00285.x
Moeran, B. (2007). A Dedicated Storytelling Organization: Advertising Talk in Japan. Human Organization, 66(2), 160–170.
Molloy, M. and Larner, W. (2010). Who needs cultural intermediaries indeed? Gendered networks in the designer fashion industry. Journal of Cultural Economy 3(3), 361-377.
Moor, L. (2008). The Rise of the Brands. London and New York: Berg.
Moor, L. (2008). Branding consultants as cultural intermediaries. Sociological Review, 56(3), 408-428.
Pettinger, L. (2015). Work, Consumption and Capitalism. London: Palgrave.
Sassatelli, R. (2007). Consumer Culture: History, Theory and Politics. Los Angeles: Sage.
Schor, J. B., Slater, D., Zukin, S., & Zelizer, V. A. (2010). Critical and Moral Stances in Consumer Studies. Journal of Consumer Culture, 10(2), 274-291. doi:10.1177/1469540510365688
Schulz, S. (2008). Our Lady Hates Viscose: The Role of the Customer Image in High Street Fashion Production. Cultural Sociology, 2(3), 385-405. doi:10.1177/1749975508095618
Schroeder, J. E. (2013). Conversations on Consumption. Routledge.
Sennett, R. (2006). The Culture of the New Capitalism. New Haven and London: Yale University Press.
YtIclice, G. (2003). The Expediency of Culture: Uses of Culture in the Global Era. Durham and London: Duke University Press
Zwick, D. & Cayla, J. (eds) (2011). Inside Marketing. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Zukin, S. & Kosta, E. (2004). Bourdieu off-Broadway: Managing distinction on a shopping block in the Last Village. City and Community 3(2), 101-114.

Subject specific skills

Knowledge and understanding of how consumerism is made possible, with what effects.
Knowledge and understanding of the history and processes informing consumer societies, with a particular emphasis on the digital age.
Understanding of how global capitalism works.

Transferable skills

Written communication skills
Analytic skills
Independent thinking