Taste is a core concept for the social sciences and an orienting notion in everyday practice. It is of equal relevance to academics and laypeople alike. Theorizations of taste are frequently multi- disciplinary, bringing an opportunity to cross-fertilize ideas and concepts. At the same time, a reader, challenged by the diverse body and dispersed nature of theories on taste, needs guidance navigating the literature and framing areas of interest. Until now, those interested in an academic perspective on the concept have had to traverse a wide range of literature. This is the first book that assembles a range of writings on taste from across disciplines to provide the reader with a sense of the emerging and expanding boundaries of this field of study.
Taste, Consumption and Markets offers a comprehensive and up-to-date review of taste, with an emphasis on how taste shapes boundaries, subcultures, and global culture, complemented by an introduction that provides a scaffold for the reader and a concluding section that reflects on the past, present, and future of research on taste. It shows the latest state of knowledge on the topic and will be of interest to students at an advanced level, academics, and reflective practitioners. It addresses the topics with regard to the sociology of taste and consumption and will be of interest to researchers, academics, and students in the fields of consumer studies, consumption ethics, sociological perspectives on consumption, and cultural studies.
Table of Contents:
1. Regularities, Patterns, and Regimes
- Museum Architecture on the Global Stage Georgia Lindsay
- Social Magic for Dinner? The Taste Script and Shaping of Foodieness in Netflix’s Chef’s Table Sofia Ulver and Marcus Klasson
- Put a Bird on It Jonathan Bean
2. Change, Flow, and Trajectories
- What’s New? Institutional Work in Updating Taste Marie-Agnès Parmentier and Eileen Fischer
- Scandinavian Aesthetics as a Taste Regime in Korea: The Case of IKEA Lydia Jungmin Choi-Johannson and Cecilia Cassinger
- In or Out? How Consumer Performances Lead to The Emergence of New Tastes Pierre-Yann Dolbec and Andre F. Maciel
3. Hegemony, Disruption, and Agency
- Endless Exhibition: Housing Displays and HGTV’s Brand Touchpoints Samuel Dodd
- Filthy Media: Affecting Bad Taste in Beach Culture Robin Canniford and Dexter Zavalza Hough-Snee
- Performing Disruptive Tastes: Toward an Ontology of Reflexive Consumer Agency Craig J. Thompson
4. Past, Present, and Future
- Retracing the History of the Concept of Taste Anissa Pomiès and Zeynep Arsel
- A Taste for the Other: Cosmopolitanism, Sense Work, and the Consumption of Difference Ian Woodward
- Accounting for Taste Alan Warde
About the Author :
Zeynep Arsel is Concordia University Research Chair in Consumption and Markets at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada.
Jonathan Bean is Assistant Professor of Architecture, Sustainable Built Environments, and Marketing and chair, M.S. Architecture in Sustainable Market Transformation at The University of Arizona.
