The Making of the Consumer: Knowledge, Power and Identity in the Modern World (Cultures of Consumption Series)

We constantly hear about 'the consumer'. The 'consumer' has become a ubiquitous person in public discourse and academic research, but who is this person? "The Making of the Consumer" is the first interdisciplinary study that follows the evolution of the consumer in the modern world, ranging from imperial Britain to contemporary Papua New Guinea, and from the European Union to China. It makes a novel contribution by broadening the study of consumption from a focus on goods and symbols to the changing role and identity of consumers. Offering a historically informed picture of the rise of the consumer to its current prominence, the authors discuss the consumer in relation to citizenship and ethics, law and economics, media, work and retailing. The contributors include: Donald Winch (University of Sussex); Frank Trentmann (Birkbeck College, University of London); Vanessa Taylor (Birkbeck College, University of London); Marie-Emmanuelle Chessel (CNRS: Centre de Recherches Historiques, cole des Hautes tudes en Sciences Sociales, Paris); Michelle Everson (Birkbeck College, University of London); Erika Rappaport (University of California, Santa Barbara); Uwe Spiekermann (Georg-August University, Gttingen); Jos Gamble (Royal Holloway University); Stephen Kline (Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, Canada); Frank Mort (University of Manchester); Ina Merkel (Philipps-Universitt, Marburg, Germany); James G. Carrier (Indiana University and Oxford Brookes University); and Ben Fine (SOAS: School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London)

Ranging from the United States to contemporary Papua New Guinea, and from the European Union to China, this book discusses the evolution of the consumer in economics, law, and anthropology; the political contestation of water and tea, as well as shopping in modern Europe, and the current refashioning of consumer identities in East Germany, in multinational stores in China, and in public debates about the effect of consumerism on childhood and citizenship in Europe and North America. Bringing together international experts from history, law, economics, anthropology, and media studies, this book offers a historically informed perspective on the rise of the consumer to its current prominence.