What is it about?
The ideas that resulted in this book started in the 1970s, when Fuat Firat and Nikhilesh Dholakia were doctoral students at Kellogg School, Northwestern University. Their collaboration is still going strong, in the second decade of the 20th century. This book examines consumption phenomena from political economic as well as cultural (transmodern) perspectives. The book is available in Paperback and Amazon Kindle editions.
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Why is it important?
Fields as diverse as consumer studies, design, environmentalism, and information systems have found this work useful. One good way to gauge the impact of this and related works is the interview-based article that Alan Bradshaw and Nikhilesh Dholakia have written, in 'Consumption, Markets & Culture', on the evolving scholarship and influence of Fuat Firat on those studying consumption and marketing from innovative and often critical perspectives.
Perspectives
From 2015 on, Fuat Firat and Nikhilesh Dholakia, along with select few global research collaborators, are revisiting and renewing the ideas in this book. In particular, we are exploring the the post-consumer idea of the "construer". Keep watching this and cognate spaces for updates.
Dr Nikhilesh Dholakia
University of Rhode Island
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Consuming People, December 2003, Taylor & Francis,
DOI: 10.4324/9780203449813.
You can read the full text:
Resources
UTPA link to additional works by Fuat Firat
With Nikhilesh Dholakia and with other co-researchers, as well as singly, Fuat Firat has provided new insights consistently and continuously in the field of marketing and consumer behavior research.
Preminent Chronicler of Critical Marketing-Consumption works: Mark Tadajewski
A good way to grasp the breadth as well as the historical depth of critical, radical and insightful work on marketing and consumption -- such as this book -- is to continue to follow the meticulous and detailed works (often in the forms of major collections and commentaries) of Professor Mark Tadajewski.
Consuming People from Postcolonial Angles... Prof Rohit Varman
There is no better contemporary scholar providing critical postcolonial perspectives on marketing and consumption than Professor Rohit Varman.
Critical Literature on Consumer Culture and Advertising
Review piece and reading list covering significant authors who have examined consumer culture and advertising phenomena from critical angles.
Preface of "Consumer Culture and Postmodernism" by Mike Featherstone
A draft page-proof copy of the Preface to the 2nd edition of this classic Mike Featherstone book, available here.
Mike Featherstone - Works on Consumer Culture and More...
For those interested in Firat/Dholakia works on consumers from transmodern perspectives, the tremendous body of work by Mike Featherstone is of course of value.
Fuat Firat Page on ResearchGate
List of several related and additional publications of A. Fuat Firat. Some available via this site.
Nikhilesh Dholakia Page on Google Scholar
Comprehensive portal into, and continually updating bibliographic database of, scholarly works by Nikhilesh Dholakia.
Pioneering and Precursor Piece by A. Fuat Firat
In this very insightful early 1990s piece, Fuat lays out many of the key ideas that later developed into many significant later works, some of which were done in collaboration with Alladi Venkatesh and Nikhilesh Dholakia.
Baudrillard and postmodernism
The online Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (SEP) is one the best places on the Web to find detailed, well-documented, and expertly interpreted information on philosophy-oriented issues, ideas and people. This detailed SEP essay is on Jean Baudrillard, and provides an excellent introduction to Baudrillard’s works on postmodernism.
Contemporary Political Economy and Consumption - Professor Ben Fine, SOAS, University of London
Readers interested in the 'Consuming People' book will find the works of Professor Ben Fine of great interest and relevance. This is a link to Fine's main works.
Political Economy and Consumption - Ben Fine, SOAS
This can almost be treated as a companion piece to go along with the 'Consuming People' book.
Adam Arvidsson: Insightful critical scholar of brands and consumption
Those interested in 'Consuming People' would find the works of Adam Arvidsson highly engaging.
Adam Arvidsson: Scintillating debates with Detlev Zwick
The ideas of Adam Arvidsson and Detlev Zwick are central for those interested in the 'Consuming People' book.
Anna Agathangelou: New insights into global political economy
Works authored and edited by Anna Agathangelou provide contemporary insights into political economy.
Bernard Cova: Explorer of Consumer Tribes, Working Consumers, and more
Folks interested in the 'Consuming People' book, and related works of FIRAT and DHOLAKIA, will certainly find the works of Bernard Cova and his research colleagues of great interest and value.
Alladi Venkatesh: Work on Markets and Culture
Substantial and insightful work on markets and culture has emanated from the pen of Professor Alladi Venkatesh and his research colleagues.
Johanna Moisander: Insights into consumers, markets, organizations
Associates and doctoral researchers who work with Professor Johanna Moisander have produced a wonderful set of books and papers that examine consumers and consumption in contemporary settings.
Detlev Zwick: Incisive analytical approaches to consumers in techno-spaces
If you want to know how 'Consuming People' interact with technology, there is no better place to start the journey than the works of Detlev Zwick.
Zwick & Cayla: Socio-cultural tour guides to explore "Inside Marketing"
Detlev Zwick and Julien Cayla have really stretched the boundaries of marketing and consumption studies by collecting the perspectives of many top social scientists on what happens inside marketscapes and consumptionscapes.
Michel Maffesoli: Amazon Author Page
Some of the works of Sorbonne-affiliated French social theorist Michel Maffesoli were very important during the writing of the 'Consuming People' book.
Michel Maffesoli: Le Figaro interview
"... mais parce que je ne suis pas comme lui fasciné par le passé et la conservation du modèle de la modernité, mais préoccupé de la compréhension du monde contemporain, ici et maintenant."
Celia Lury at Goldsmiths College, University of London: New insights into the cultures of brands
An important author to follow, for those interested in where to go next after the 'Consuming People' book.
Liz Moor at Goldsmiths College, University of London: New insights into the cultures of brands
Another contemporary scholar to follow, for those interested in the 'Consuming People' book.
Charisma Network: Exploring the interstices of markets, consumers, culture
A valuable source of insightful blogs and other items.
Stuart Ewen: A source of inspiration
Stuart Ewen's title "All Consuming Images" was an inspiration for our title and many of his ideas had an impact on the "Consuming People" book.
Stuart Ewen: Siginficant body of work on influences on contemporary consumption styles
A key author to study, for those interested in the "Consuming People" book.
Erving Goffman: Consumption as Theater
An early source of inspiration behind the subtitle "... Theaters of Consumption" of course is the "The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life" by Erving Goffman.
Neil Postman: The Polemics of Media
While Neil Postman's "Amusing Ourselves to Death" can sometimes be construed as a backward-looking polemic on media, it is nonetheless an important work to consult for those interested in media and consumption.
Marshall McLuhan: The Eclectic Media Guru
Irreverent and insightful, including the use of the term "Massage" for "Message" in the title of his famous book, McLuhan is in a sense the earliest analyzer of postmodern patterns of media use.
Zwick and associates: Putting consumers to work
Technology has made very significant impacts on consumption patterns in recent years. The work by Detlev Zwick and associates, on "putting consumers to work" via seductive but ultimately exploitative technology treadmills, is an important and classic follow up to the ideas in the "Consuming People" book.
Detlev Zwick and Janice Denegri Knott: Manufacturing Customers
From "Consuming People" to "Manufacturing Customers"... we have come a full circle, have we?
Ken Conca: Even environmentalism is consumerized
Insightful body of work, by Professor Ken Conca, that often points to the consumerization-marketization of even causes and issues that are critical and opposed to excessive consumption..!!
Ken Conca et al: Confronting Consumption
Very insightful look into social embeddedness as well as the political economy of the all-powerful consumerist, marketing-driven ethos, particularly in America.
Consuming People: Kindle edition at Amazon.com
Kindle edition is available through this link.
Consuming People: Paperback edition at Amazon.com
Paperback edition available via this link.
Secessio: Featuring new provocative work of Michel Maffesoli and many others
A rich source of insightful essays.
Book related: Netherlands site
Here is a site related to the book at a major library in the Netherlands.
Book related: Amazon site
Amazon.com site for this book.
Google Scholar Page: A. Fuat FIRAT
Visit the full spectrum of work of this co-author via this page...
ImpactStory Page: Nikhilesh Dholakia
A novel way to assess the research impacts of a scholar... This is the page for the book's second author Nikhilesh Dholakia.
Contributors
The following have contributed to this page
