The Dialectics of Shopping
9780226526485
9780226526461
The Dialectics of Shopping
Shopping is generally considered to be a pleasurable activity. But in reality it can often be complicated and frustrating. Daniel Miller explores the many contradictions faced by shoppers on a typical street in London, and in the process offers a sophisticated examination of the way we shop, and what it reveals about our relationships to our families and communities, as well as to the environment and the economy as a whole.
Miller’s companions are mostly women who confront these contradictions as they shop. They placate their children with items that combine nutrition with taste or usefulness with style. They decide between shopping at the local store or at the impersonal, but less expensive, mall. They tell of their sympathy for environmental concerns but somehow avoid much ethical shopping. They are faced with a selection of shops whose shifts and mergers often reveal extraordinary stories of their own. Filled with entertaining—and thoroughly familiar—stories of shoppers and shops, this book will interest scholars across a broad range of disciplines.
Miller’s companions are mostly women who confront these contradictions as they shop. They placate their children with items that combine nutrition with taste or usefulness with style. They decide between shopping at the local store or at the impersonal, but less expensive, mall. They tell of their sympathy for environmental concerns but somehow avoid much ethical shopping. They are faced with a selection of shops whose shifts and mergers often reveal extraordinary stories of their own. Filled with entertaining—and thoroughly familiar—stories of shoppers and shops, this book will interest scholars across a broad range of disciplines.
222 pages | 6 x 9 | © 2001
Lewis Henry Morgan Lecture Series
Anthropology: Cultural and Social Anthropology
Economics and Business: Economics--International and Comparative
Sociology: General Sociology
Table of Contents
Foreword Anthony T. Carter
Acknowledgments
1Introduction
2The Dialectics of Kinship
3The Dialectics of Community
4The Dialectics of Ethics and Identity
5The Dialectics of Political Economy
6Get "Real"
Bibliography
Index
Acknowledgments
1Introduction
2The Dialectics of Kinship
3The Dialectics of Community
4The Dialectics of Ethics and Identity
5The Dialectics of Political Economy
6Get "Real"
Bibliography
Index
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