A multi-disciplinary overview providing new theories, critical analyses and the latest reasearch on this very fashionable topic. Includes chapters on consumption studies in anthropology, economics, history, sociology and many more areas.

This work is a survey of the enormous number of writings on consumption produced over the last decade. The theorization of consumption is something which increasingly dominates economic, political and social debate - whether parent, passenger or patient, we are all "consumers". This book includes contributions from leading researchers in the field. There are chapters on consumption studies in anthropology, consumer behaviour, economics, geography, history, media studies, psychology and sociology. This is an interdisciplinary overview which provides new theories, critical analyses and the latest research on this topic. Each subject area includes a review of the literature, a general assessment of the impact of the new work in the discipline as a whole, and ends with case studies exemplifying recent trends. It should be of use to students of consumption, students of the many disciplines covered in this book, and for anyone interested in the consumer society.

Consumption as the vanguard of history - a polemic by way of an introduction, D. Miller
studies in the new consumer behaviour, R. Belk
the sociology of consumption, C. Campbell
from political economy to consumption, B. Fine
consumption within historical studies, P. Glennie
geographies of consumption, P. Jackson and N. Thrift
psychological approaches to consumption - varieties of research past, present and future, P. Lunt
consumption stuides as the transformation of anthropology, D. Miller
theories of consumption in media studies, D. Morley.