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'The Age of Chance is a wonderful book, scholarly and at the same time compulsive reading' - Heather Worth, University of Auckland
'The Age of Chance is a wonderful book, scholarly and at the same time compulsive reading' - Heather Worth, University of Auckland
In this engaging new book, Gerda Reith explores key theoretical
concepts in the sociology of consumption. Drawing on the ideas of
Foucault, Marx and Bataille, amongst others, she investigates the
ways that understandings of 'the problems of consumption' change
over time, and asks what these changes can tell us about their
wider social and political contexts. Through this, she uses ideas
about both consumption and addiction to explore issues around
identity and desire, excess and control and reason and disorder.
She also assesses how our concept of 'normal' consumption has grown
out of efforts to regulate behaviour historically considered as
disruptive or deviant, and how in the contemporary world the 'dark
side' of consumption has been medicalised in terms of addiction,
pathology and irrationality. By drawing on case studies of drugs,
food and gambling, the volume demonstrates the ways in which modern
practices of consumption are rooted in historical processes and
embedded in geopolitical structures of power. It not only asks how
modern consumer culture came to be in the form it is today, but
also questions what its various manifestations can tell us about
wider issues in capitalist modernity. Addictive Consumption offers
a compelling new perspective on the origins, development and
problems of consumption in modern society. The volume's
interdisciplinary profile will appeal to scholars and students in
sociology, psychology, history, philosophy and anthropology.
In this engaging new book, Gerda Reith explores key theoretical
concepts in the sociology of consumption. Drawing on the ideas of
Foucault, Marx and Bataille, amongst others, she investigates the
ways that understandings of 'the problems of consumption' change
over time, and asks what these changes can tell us about their
wider social and political contexts. Through this, she uses ideas
about both consumption and addiction to explore issues around
identity and desire, excess and control and reason and disorder.
She also assesses how our concept of 'normal' consumption has grown
out of efforts to regulate behaviour historically considered as
disruptive or deviant, and how in the contemporary world the 'dark
side' of consumption has been medicalised in terms of addiction,
pathology and irrationality. By drawing on case studies of drugs,
food and gambling, the volume demonstrates the ways in which modern
practices of consumption are rooted in historical processes and
embedded in geopolitical structures of power. It not only asks how
modern consumer culture came to be in the form it is today, but
also questions what its various manifestations can tell us about
wider issues in capitalist modernity. Addictive Consumption offers
a compelling new perspective on the origins, development and
problems of consumption in modern society. The volume's
interdisciplinary profile will appeal to scholars and students in
sociology, psychology, history, philosophy and anthropology.
This book provides a comprehensive and thought-provoking collection
of articles by internationally recognised experts in the study of
gambling - doctors and lawyers, journalists and academics. It
presents a diverse range of perspectives on the issue of gambling:
from legal, political, and economic, to social, psychological, and
ethical. Although many of the essays are strongly argued, the
collection as a whole offers a balanced range of viewpoints and
arguments, allowing readers to decide for themselves what role
gambling should play in our society. The stimulating, jargon-free
articles in this entertaining and informative volume will help
clarify one of the most important debates of our time.
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