Ian Woodward

Why are i-pods and mobile phones fashion accessories? Why do people spend thousands remodelling their perfectly functional kitchen? Why do people crave shoes or handbags? Is our desire for objects unhealthy, or irrational? Objects have an inescapable hold over us, not just in consumer culture but increasingly in the disciplines that study social relations too. This book offers a systematic overview of the diverse ways of studying the material as culture. Surveying the field of material culture studies through an examination and synthesis of classical and contemporary scholarship on objects, commodities, consumption, and symbolization, this book: " Introduces the key concepts and approaches in the study of objects and their meanings; " Presents the full sweep of core theory - from Marxist and critical approaches to structuralism and semiotics - to evaluate the frameworks for approaching the material world; " Shows how and why people use objects to perform identity, achieve social status, and narrativize life experiences; " Analyzes everyday domains in which objects are important: social status, identity, social performance and narrativization; " Shows why studying material culture is necessary for understanding the social. This book will be essential reading for students and researchers in sociology, anthropology, cultural studies, consumer behaviour studies, design and fashion studies.

Understanding Material Culture

Dominik Bartmanski

Vinyl, a contemporary cultural icon, is brought to life through case studies, stories and interviews from buyers, makers, musicians and record producers across the world.

The Analogue Record in the Digital Age

Vinyl

Maddi Kültürü Anlamak

David Inglis

Margaret Gibson

Les Back

Ron Jacobs

Laura Desfor Edles

Andy Bennett

Cultural Sociology: An Introduction is the first dedicated student textbook to address cultural sociology as a legitimate model for sociological thinking and research. Highly renowned authors present a rich overview of major sociological themes and the various empirical applications of cultural sociology. A timely introductory overview to this increasingly significant field which provides invaluable summaries of key studies and approaches within cultural sociology Clearly written and designed, with accessible summaries of thematic topics, covering race, class, politics, religion, media, fashion, and music International experts contribute chapters in their field of research, including a chapter by David Chaney, a founder of cultural sociology Offers a unified set of theoretical and methodological tools for those wishing to apply a cultural sociological approach in their work

An Introduction

Cultural Sociology

A Study in Fire and Ice

Glenda Jackson

Recent years have seen not just a revival, but a rebirth of the analogue record. More than merely a nostalgic craze, vinyl has become a cultural icon. As music consumption migrated to digital and online, this seemingly obsolete medium became the fastest-growing format in music sales. Whilst vinyl never ceased to be the favorite amongst many music lovers and DJs, from the late 1980s the recording industry regarded it as an outdated relic, consigned to dusty domestic corners and obscure record shops. So why is vinyl now experiencing a ‘rebirth of its cool’?Dominik Bartmanski and Ian Woodward explore this question by combining a cultural sociological approach with insights from material culture studies. Presenting vinyl as a multifaceted cultural object, they investigate the reasons behind its persistence within our technologically accelerated culture. Informed by media analysis, urban ethnography and the authors’ interviews with musicians, DJs, sound engineers, record store owners, collectors and cutting-edge label chiefs from a range of metropolitan centres renowned for thriving music scenes including London, New York, Tokyo, Melbourne, and especially Berlin, what emerges is a story of a modern icon.

In this first major study of the captivating life of Audrey Hepburn, Ian Woodward uncovers the truly sensational story of one of Hollywood's most enduring legends. Ranked number 50 in Empire Magazine's 'Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time', her appeal as a screen icon is set to last for years to come. From her roles in such legendary films as Breakfast at Tiffany's and her Oscar-winning performance in Roman Holiday, to her lovers and the pain of losing a child, this revealing biography is essential reading for Hepburn and film fans alike.

Fair Lady of the Screen

Audrey Hepburn

Ian Woodward tells the captivating story of Audrey Hepburn, enduring Hollywood legend. Born into the Dutch aristocracy, her fairy-tale childhood was shattered by her father's abandonment. She trained as a ballerina, wowed the New York critics with her performance of Gigi on Broadway and went on to win an Oscar for her stunning performance in Roman Holiday. This launched her international movie career, which included such successes as Breakfast at Tiffany's and Funny Face. However, even these exemplary achievements pale against her outstanding work for UNICEF. The book was updated after Hepburn's death to include her valuable work with UNICEF in her final years and her fight against cancer Audrey Hepburn is one of Hollywood's most enduring legends.

Frederick F. Wherry

The Oxford Handbook of Consumption consolidates the most innovative recent work conducted by social scientists in the field of consumption studies and identifies some of the most fruitful lines of inquiry for future research. It begins by embedding marketing in its global history, enmeshed in various political, economic, and social sites. From this embedded perspective, the book branches out to examine the rise of consumer culture theory among consumer researchers and parallel innovative developments in sociology and anthropology, with scholarship analyzing the roles that identity, social networks, organizational dynamics, institutions, market devices, materiality, and cultural meanings play across a wide variety of applications, including, but not limited to, brands and branding, the sharing economy, tastes and preferences, credit and credit scoring, consumer surveillance, race and ethnicity, status, family life, well-being, environmental sustainability, social movements, and social inequality. The volume is unique in the attention it gives to consumer research on inequality and the focus it has on consumer credit scores and consumer behaviors that shape life chances. The volume includes essays by many of the key researchers in the field, some of whom have only recently, if at all, crossed the disciplinary lines that this volume has enabled. The contributors have tried to address several key questions: What motivates consumption and what does it mean to be a consumer? What social, technical, and cultural systems integrate and give character to contemporary consumption? What actors, institutions, and understandings organize and govern consumption? And what are the social uses and effects of consumption?

Ian Woodward

Books

Your next favorite book is out there