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Comparative Studies of Consumption Conference

17^th- 18^th November 2005
University of Manchester, Manchester,
England, UK.

A conference jointly funded by the UK Economic and Social Research Council and Arts and Humanities Research Board’s ‘Cultures of Consumption Programme’ and the ESRC Centre for Research on Innovation and Competition at The University of Manchester.

Accounts of social change which emphasise the emergence and sedimentation of ‘cultures of consumption’ are often premised around the claim that global culture is consumer culture and that a tendency towards homogenisation of consumer behaviour is emerging on the axis of cosmopolitanism or Americanisation. The basis for such claims centre around the belief that there has been a momentous shift from a production-led to a consumption-driven society, a consequence of the emergence of a culture associated with mass consumption. While there is some evidence of convergence of material cultures across Europe other accounts stress fragmentation of differences like class and region. Dissenters conceive of a global-local dialectic which derives some support from studies contrasting cosmopolitan and provincial behaviour.

Despite the profound and often paradoxical implications of such theories, the study of consumption still suffers from a lack of systematic comparative research (both across nations and social practices). The project around which this conference is organised, ‘The Diffusion of Cultures of Consumption’, represents an attempt to remedy, at least in part, this lack of empirical analysis. The project explores some dynamics of consumer cultures in the last third of the 20th century. It deploys under-used research resources - surveys repeated regularly since the 1970s – in order to compare the trajectories of four European countries (France, Netherlands, Norway and UK) with that of the USA. We use two main quantitative data sources, household expenditure surveys and time use diaries, to explore to what extent trajectories in patterns of consumption are converging towards some common norm and how such trends affect and reflect social divisions – of class, ethnicity, gender, generation – within the countries of study.

The conference will present some results from the project and there will be seven papers from other scholars. This conference represents an opportunity to further discuss comparative approaches to the study of consumption and to consider some particular practices of consumption in comparative perspective. Principal questions for discussion include:

What are the key challenges (methodological, conceptual, analytical) for conducting comparative studies of consumption?
Is consumer culture global culture?
On what conceptual grounds might we conceive a diffusion of cultures of consumption, for example orientations toward cosmopolitanism, Americanisation, convergence of consumer practices?
What can a comparison of practices (in the context of this conference eating and reading) reveal about trajectories in the organisation of consumption?

Conference format

The conference will bring together people working in the fields of policy and practice, and from industry and academia to explore the study and application of comparative approaches to consumption. The two-day conference will be divided into three themes: conducting comparative studies of consumption; the globalisation of consumer culture; and, comparing practices of consumption (eating and reading). Each theme will comprise three papers, including work form the ‘Diffusion of Cultures of Consumption’ project and invited speakers. In addition, Adrian Franklin (University of Tasmania) has agreed to act as conference rapporteúr. It is hoped that the conference will provide avenues for the development of comparative studies of consumption and to this end the organisers will consider whether opportunities for producing a Special Issue of a journal emerge from conference presentations and discussions.

For more information please contact :

Dr Dale Southerton,
Email: Dale.Southerton@manchester.ac.uk

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