SOC416 Senior Seminar in the Sociology of Culture

The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology provides clear, concise, expert definitions and explanations of the key concepts written by leading scholars in the field of Sociology.

"This publication offers an overview of how our understanding of consumption in history has changed in the last generation, taking the reader from the ancient period to the twenty-first century. It includes articles on Asia, Europe, Africa, and North America; brings together new perspectives; highlights cutting-edge areas of research; and offers a guide through the main historiographical developments. Contributions from leading historians examine the spaces of consumption, consumer politics, luxury and waste, nationalism and empire, the body, well-being, youth cultures and fashion. The volume also showcases the different ways in which recent historians have approached the subject, from cultural and economic history, to political history and technology studies, including areas where multidisciplinary approaches have been especially fruitful." - Description from publisher

"Archaeologists and anthropologists have long studied artifacts of refuse from the distant past as a portal into ancient civilizations, but examining what we throw away today tells a story in real time and becomes an important and useful tool for academic study. Trash is studied by behavioral scientists who use data com­piled from the exploration of dumpsters to better understand our modern society and culture. Why does the average American household send 470 pounds of uneaten food to the garbage can on an annual basis? How do different societies around the world cope with their garbage in these troubled environmental times? How does our trash give insight into our attitudes about gender, class, religion, and art? The Encyclopedia of Consumption and Waste explores the topic across multiple disciplines within the social sciences and ranges further to include business, consumerism, environmentalism." - Description from publisher

"This collection of over forty entries, from musicologists and art historians from the US and UK." - Description from publisher

"The question of consumption emerged as a major focus of research and scholarship in the 1990s but the breadth and diversity of consumer culture has not been fully enough explored. The meanings of consumption, particularly in relation to lifestyle and identity, are of great importance to academic areas including business studies, sociology, cultural and media studies, psychology, geography and politics. The SAGE Handbook of Consumer Culture is a one-stop resource for scholars and students of consumption, where the key dimensions of consumer culture are critically discussed and articulated. The editors have organised contributions from a global and interdisciplinary team of scholars into six key sections: Part 1: Sociology of Consumption Part 2: Geographies of Consumer Culture Part 3: Consumer Culture Studies in Marketing Part 4: Consumer Culture in Media and Cultural Studies Part 5: Material Cultures of Consumption Part 6: The Politics of Consumer Culture" - Description from publisher

"he Oxford Encyclopedia of American Cultural and Intellectual History offers a record of the nation’s values, aspirations, anxieties, and beliefs as expressed in both everyday life and formal bodies of thought. Over the past twenty years, the field of cultural history has moved to the center of American historical studies, and has come to encompass the experiences of ordinary citizens in such arenas as reading and religious practice as well as the accomplishments of prominent artists and writers. Some of the most imaginative scholarship in recent years has emerged from this burgeoning field. The scope of this work reflects that development: the encyclopedia incorporates popular entertainment ranging from minstrel shows to video games, middlebrow ventures like Chautauqua lectures and book clubs, and preoccupations such as “perfectionism” and ‘wellness’ that have shaped Americans’ behavior at various points in the past and that continue to influence attitudes in the present. The work also make available recent scholarly insights into the writings of political scientists, philosophers, feminist theorists, social reformers, and other thinkers whose works have furnished the underpinnings of Americans’ civic activities and personal concerns." - Description from publisher

"Taking a global approach and beginning in early modern Europe, the essays in the Oxford Handbook of the History of Youth Culture provide broadly contextualized case studies of the ways in which the meanings and expressions of both “youth” and “culture” have evolved through time and space. The authors show that youth culture has been shaped by geography, ethnicity, class, gender, faith, technology, and myriad other factors. Examining subjects ranging from monastic schools to online communities, from enslaved youth in the Caribbean to Indigenous students at government-sanctioned boarding schools, from youthful entrepreneurs to youthful activists, from war to sexuality, and from art to literature, the essays show that there have been many youth cultures. Throughout, authors emphasize the ways in which the idea of youth culture could become contested terrain—between youth and their families, their communities, and the culture at large—as well as the importance of youth agency in carving out separate lives. Among the tensions explored are the struggle between control and independence, as well as the explicit and implicit differences between male and female constructions of youth culture." - Description from publisher

"Deliberately selected to represent as many parts of the globe as possible, and with a commitment to recognizing both the similarities and differences in children and young people's lives - from China to Denmark, from Canada to India, from Japan to Iceland, from - the authors offer a rich contextualization of children's engagement with their particular media and communication environment, while also pursuing cross-cutting themes in terms of comparative and global trends." - Description from publisher.

"Via 150 signed entries, Green Consumerism: An A-to-Z Guide offers a wide-ranging examination of green consumerism, one reflecting the diversity of views and debates surrounding the concept. The multiplicity of topics and disciplinary perspectives provides a useful survey of the nature of green consumerism, the forms it takes, the issues impacting it, and the practices it involves. Contributing authors also provide insights into the social and spacial constitution of green consumerism, its multifaceted and sometimes contested contours, and the ways it is embedded and shaped in relation to wider cultural, economic, political and environmental processes. Readers will derive a sense not only of what green consumerism has become, but more critically, how it might evolve, addressing both limitations and possibilities for real and meaningful change." - Description from publisher.

"Encyclopedia of Consumer Culture covers consuming societies around the world, from the Age of Enlightenment to the present, and shows how consumption has become intrinsic to the world's social, economic, political, and cultural landscapes. Offering an invaluable interdisciplinary approach, this reference work is a useful resource for researchers in sociology, political science, consumer science, global studies, comparative studies, business and management, human geography, economics, history, anthropology, and psychology." - Description from publisher.

"Unique and timely, this Research Handbook on Luxury Branding explores and takes stock of the current body of knowledge on luxury branding, as well as offering direction for future research and management in the field. Featuring contributions from an international team of top-level researchers, this Handbook offers analysis and discussion of the profound socioeconomic, psychological, technological and political changes that are affecting the luxury industry, and that will continue to shape its future." - Description from publisher

"The Oxford Handbook of Material Culture Studies introduces and reviews thinking in the interdisciplinary field of material culture studies. Drawing together approaches from archaeology, anthropology, geography, and science and technology studies, through twenty-eight specially-commissioned articles, the volume explores contemporary issues and debates in a series of themed sections. These themes covers areas such as disciplinary perspectives, material practices, objects and humans, landscapes and the built environment, and studying particular things. From Coca-Cola, chimpanzees, artworks, and ceramics, to museums, cities, human bodies, and magical objects, this book is a vital resource. A comprehensive bibliography enhances the book's usefulness as a research tool." - Description from publisher.

"This book examines the most pressing questions addressed by consumption studies scholars today. The volume counteracts the tendency towards disciplinary myopia as it engages scholars from around the world drawing on sociology, anthropology, psychology, history, consumption studies, and marketing. The volume’s thirty-one chapters are organized around six themes, facilitating cross-disciplinary exploration. The volume covers consumer transactions and credit scoring as important drivers of consumer behaviors, race and ethnicity and consumer inequality, brands and branding, the embeddedness of marketing, consumer culture theory, the sharing economy, ethical consumption, environmental sustainability, and variations in urban scenes where consumption thrives." - Description from publisher.

"The Oxford Handbook of Political Consumerism offers the first comprehensive theoretical and comparative overview of the ways in which the market becomes a political arena. It maps the four major forms of political consumerism: boycotting, buycotting (spending to show support), lifestyle politics, and discursive actions, such as culture jamming. Chapters by leading scholars examine political consumerism in different locations and industry sectors, and in consideration of environmental and human rights problems, political events, and the ethics of production and manufacturing practices. This volume offers a thorough exploration of the phenomenon and its myriad dilemmas, involving religion, race, nationalism, gender relations, animals, and our common future. Moreover, the Handbook takes stock of political consumerism's effectiveness in solving complex global problems and its use to both promote and impede democracy." - Description from publisher.

"[T]his Handbook provide a primer and resource for scholars and practitioners keen to develop or enhance their understanding of how gender permeates marketing decisions, consumer experiences, public policy initiatives, and market practices." - Description from publisher

This companion "is divided into four broad sections: 1) Contexts, 2) Spaces and places, 3) People, processes and practices and 4) Geographical variations. Chapters are written in an analytical and synthetic manner, accessible to the general reader as well as challenging for specialists, and with an international perspective." - Description from publisher.

"This Encyclopedia offers a definitive source on issues pertaining to the full range of topics in the important new area of food and agricultural ethics. It includes summaries of historical approaches, current scholarship, social movements, and new trends from the standpoint of the ethical notions that have shaped them." - Description from publisher

"The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America... covers the significant events, inventions, and social movements that have shaped the way Americans view, prepare, and consume food and drink. Entries range across historical periods and the trends that characterize them, from the extravagant feasts of the Gilded Age to the diet fads of the nineties." - Description from publisher

"The Oxford Book of Health Foods is a comprehensive, up-to-date, and scientifically based guide to a variety of foods associated with good health. From fruits, herbs, and grains to vitamins, minerals, and dietary supplements, this resource offers not only the claims associated with each food, but also the scientific truths behind these claims." - Description from publisher

"The SAGE Encyclopedia of Food Issues explores the topic of food across multiple disciplines within the social sciences and related areas including business, consumerism, marketing, and environmentalism. In contrast to the existing reference works on the topic of food that tend to fall into the categories of cultural perspectives, this carefully balanced academic encyclopedia focuses on social and policy aspects of food production, safety, regulation, labeling, marketing, distribution, and consumption." - Description from publisher

This book "includes both an exhaustive catalogue of foods – whether they be biscuits named for battles, divas or revolutionaries, body parts from nose to tail, toe to cerebellum, or breads from the steppes of Asia or the well-built ovens of the Mediterranean – and a richly allusive commentary on the culture of food, whether expressed in literature and cookery books, or as dishes peculiar to a country or community." - Description from publisher

"This book explores the complex interrelationships between food and agriculture, politics, and society... Furthermore, the book examines the tendency to address the new organization of global civil society around food, its production, distribution, and consequences for the least powerful within the context of the North-South divide; the problems of malnutrition as opposed to poverty, food insecurity, and food shortages, as well as the widespread undernutrition in developing countries; and how biotechnology can be used to ensure a sustainable human future by addressing global problems such as human population growth, pollution, climate change, and limited access to clean water and other basic food production resources." - Description from publisher

"This book chronicles the history of food. It starts with the Columbian Exchange, a term coined in 1972 by the historian Alfred Crosby to refer to the flow of plants, animals and microbes across the Atlantic Ocean and beyond. It then explores the spice trade during the medieval period, the social biography and politics of food, and how food history is connected with race and ethnicity in the United States. The book also focuses on cookbooks as an important primary source for historians; contemporary food ethics, ethical food consumerism, and “ethical food consumption”; the link between food and social movements; the emerging critical nutrition studies; the relationship between food and gender and how gender can enlighten the study of food activism; the relationship between food and religion; the debates over food as they have developed within geography in both the English- and French-speaking worlds; food history as part of public history; culinary tourism; national cuisines; food regimes analysis; how the Annales School in France has shaped the field of food history; the role of food in anthropology; a global history of fast food, focusing on the McDonald's story; industrial foods; and the merits of food studies and its lessons for sociology. In addition, the book assesses the impact of global food corporations' domination in the contemporary era, which in many ways can be seen as the equivalent of the European and American empire of the past." - Description from publisher

"This book considers the interconnected issues of real water in the environment and “virtual water” in food value chains and investigates how society influences both fields. This perspective draws out considerable challenges for food security and for environmental stewardship in the context of ongoing global change. The book also discusses these issues by region and with global overviews of selected commodities." - Description from publisher

"The Oxford Handbook of the Economics of Food Consumption and Policy provides an overview of the economics of food consumption and policy relevant to the areas of food and agriculture and policy making." - Description from publisher

"This multicultural and interdisciplinary reference brings a fresh social and cultural perspective to the global history of food, foodstuffs, and cultural exchange from the age of discovery to contemporary times. Comprehensive in scope, this two-volume encyclopedia covers agriculture and industry, food preparation and regional cuisines, science and technology, nutrition and health, and trade and commerce, as well as key contemporary issues such as famine relief, farm subsidies, food safety, and the organic movement. Articles also include specific foodstuffs such as chocolate, potatoes, and tomatoes; topics such as Mediterranean diet and the Spice Route; and pivotal figures such as Marco Polo, Columbus, and Catherine de' Medici." - Description from publisher

"Throwing new light on how colonisation and globalization have affected the food practices of different communities in Asia, the Routledge Handbook of Food in Asia explores the changes and variations in the region’s dishes, meals and ways of eating." - Description from publisher

"This Handbook provides a systematic guide to the current state of knowledge on sustainable food. It begins by analyzing the historical development surrounding food production and consumption, then moves on to discuss the current food crisis and challenges as well as the impacts linked to modern agriculture and food security. Finally, it concludes with a section that examines emerging sustainable food trends and movements in addition to an analysis of current food science innovations." - Description from publisher

"Arranged chronologically, this title contains 17 originally commissioned chapters by experts in food history or related topics. Each chapter focuses on a particular theme, idea or issue in the history of food. The case studies discussed in these essays illuminate the more general trends of the period, providing the reader with insight into the large-scale and dramatic changes in food history through an understanding of how these developments sprang from a specific geographic and historical context." - Description from publisher

"Introduced by the editor and including original articles by over thirty leading food scholars from around the world, the Routledge International Handbook of Food Studies offers students, scholars and all those interested in food-related research a one-stop, easy-to-use reference guide. Each article includes a brief history of food research within a discipline or on a particular topic, a discussion of research methodologies and ideological or theoretical positions, resources for research, including archives, grants and fellowship opportunities, as well as suggestions for further study." - Description from publisher

"This Handbook represents the most comprehensive compilation of our current knowledge of food and nutrition security from a global perspective. It is organized to reflect the wide scope of the contents, its four sections corresponding to the accepted current definitional frameworks prevailing in the work of multilateral agencies and mainstream scholarship." - Description from publisher

"This handbook includes contributions from established and emerging scholars from around the world and draws on multiple approaches and subjects to explore the socio-economic, cultural, ecological, institutional, legal, and policy aspects of regenerative food practices." - Description from publisher

"The Routledge History of American Foodways provides an important overview of the main themes surrounding the history of food in the Americas from the pre-colonial era to the present day." - Description from publisher

"The ways in which the rapid urbanization of the Global South is transforming food systems and food supply chains, and the food security of urban populations is an often neglected topic. This international group of authors addresses this profound transformation from a variety of different perspectives and disciplinary lenses, providing an important corrective to the dominant view that food insecurity is a rural problem requiring increases in agricultural production." - Description from publisher

"This Handbook provides insights to the ways in which globalisation is affecting the whole agri-food system from farms to the consumer. It covers themes including the physical basis of agriculture, the influence of trade policies, the nature of globalised agriculture, and resistance to globalisation in the form of attempts to foster greater sustainability and multifunctional agricultural systems." - Description from publisher