Consumption Studies
Introduction
The Contested Terrain Of Consumption Studies, 31 Jul 2008, Boston; Deadline 1 Mar
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Call for Papers
"THE CONTESTED TERRAIN OF CONSUMPTION STUDIES"
Consumer Studies Mini-Conference
Thursday, July 31st 2008 Boston College, Boston
The Consumer Studies Research Network (CSRN) is sponsoring a one-day mini-conference on “The Contested Terrain of Consumption Studies,” to be held at Boston College, immediately prior to the American Sociological Association (ASA) annual meeting in Boston. Building on the momentum of our highly successful mini-conference in August 2007 in New York City, the 2008 conference seeks to engage critical and polemical differences within the field of consumption studies. These include debates between scholars working within normative and interpretive traditions, between those joined to the fields of marketing research and anti-branding activism, between cultural populists and critical theorists, between economists and ecologists, to name only a few. In short, this conference will showcase some of the many contrasting views on the field of consumption, through a series of thematic panels and keynote talks specifically planned to highlight these concerns. We invite papers on any topic related to consumption studies; papers can be theoretical, empirical or polemical works. The conference encourages (but does not specifically require) authors to consider their works in the context of some of the following areas:
- consumerism and social identity: consumer narcissism or postmodern multiplicity
- mass affluence: the democracy of leisure or the mcdonaldization of culture
- ecology and environmentalism: saving the planet or blocking growth
- consumption and women: the cooptation of feminism or empowerment by other means
- simple living and voluntary simplicity: responsible consumption or elite taste
- anti-brand activism: a new social movement or a fleeting subculture
- globalization of consumer culture: cultural imperialism or hybridization
- advertising professions: perpetuating wasteful consumption or creative outlet
Proposals are especially welcome from advanced graduate students and junior faculty, and should be submitted by email (as a PDF or Word document). Include the full information of at least one author, the title of the paper to be presented, and an abstract of no more than 500 words.
Proposals should be sent to info@contestedconsumption.info
Deadline: March 1, 2008. Space is limited. Proposals will be reviewed by the conference organizing committee of the Consumer Studies Research Network, which includes both professors and graduate students. Notification of acceptance will occur by April 1 2008.
More information on Conference events will be forthcoming on the Conference website: .
The CSRN, in existence for 9 years and loosely affiliated with the ASA, seeks to foster dialogue and debate among those who are interested in and concerned about the place of goods and commodities in social life. For more information on the CSRN, contact Dan Cook (dtcook@camden.rutgers.edu) or visit .