Approaching Consumer Culture

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xiv

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2. Consumer Culture and Its Futures: Dreams and Consequences

   • Mike Featherstone

   Pages 1-46

3. “You Are a Socialist Child Like Me”: Goods and Identity in Bulgaria

   • Evgenia Krasteva-Blagoeva

   Pages 47-72

4. Consumer Culture from Socialist Yugoslavia to Post-socialist Serbia: Movements and Moments

   • Ildiko Erdei

   Pages 73-92

5. Overview of Consumer Culture in Bulgaria: From Perestroika to Facebook

   • Kristian Bankov

   Pages 93-111

6. Consuming “Others”: Post-socialist Realities and Paradoxes of Appropriation in Serbia

   • Marina Simić

   Pages 113-129

7. The Meanings and Practices of “Consumer Activism” in Postsocialist Bulgaria

   • Yuson Jung

   Pages 131-145

8. Preserves Exiting Socialism: Authenticity, Anti-standardization, and Middle-Class Consumption in Postsocialist Romania

   • Monica Stroe

   Pages 147-180

9. The Pleasures of Being Global: Cultural Consumption of Pizza and Sushi in a Bulgarian City

   • Iskra Velinova

   Pages 181-218

10. Consumption of the Past: Constructing Antiquity of an Archaeological Site in Bulgaria and Marketing the Ideological Narrative

    • Tsvete Lazova

    Pages 219-236

11. Modernization and the Department Store in Early-Twentieth-Century Japan: Modern Girl and New Consumer Culture Lifestyles

    • Tomoko Tamari

    Pages 237-255

12. A Cultural Reading of Conspicuous Consumption in China

    • Min Zhou

    Pages 257-269

13. Middle Stratum Consumption Patterns as a “Key” for Understanding Japanese Society

    • Maya Keliyan

    Pages 271-287

14. Back Matter

    Pages 289-296

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​This fascinating collection analyzes the impact of Western consumer culture on local cultures and consumption in Southeast Europe and East Asia. Cultural, historical, economic and sociopolitical contexts are examined regarding buying behaviors, usage and customization practices and consumer activism, specifically in Bulgaria, Serbia, and Romania as cultures continue to evolve in the post-socialist era, and in China and Japan as a continuation of movements toward modernity and progress. Surprising and thought-provoking contrasts stand out as consumers balance the global with the local in terms of clothing, technology, luxury items, and food. All chapters feature a wealth of empirical and cross-cultural data, and the presentation is framed by Professor Mike Featherstone’s theoretical essay on the origins of consumer culture and the consequences of two hundred years of increasing consumption for the human condition and the future of the planet.

Included in the coverage:

• “You are a socialist child like me”: Goods and Identity in Bulgaria
  
• Consumer Culture from Socialist Yugoslavia to Post-Socialist Serbia: Movements and Moments
  
• Preserves Exiting Socialism: Authenticity, Anti-Standardization, and Middle-Class Consumption in Post-Socialist Romania
  
• Modernization and the Department Store in Early 20th-Century Japan: Modern Girl and New Consumer Culture Lifestyles
  
• A Cultural Reading of Conspicuous Consumption in China
  

Approaching Consumer Culture broadens the cultural anthropology literature and will be welcomed by Western and Eastern scholars and researchers alike. Its depth and accessibility make it useful to university courses in cultural anthropology, cultural studies, and sociology.

• Consumption
• Consumerism
• Consumer culture
• Conspicuous consumption
• Consumer rights
• Consumer activism
• Globalization
• Post-socialism
• Identity
• Invention of tradition
• Modernity
• Post-modernity
• Normality
• Western consumer culture
• Consumer culture in post-socialist countries
• Consumer culture in East Asia
• Consumer culture in Southeast Europe

• New Bulgarian University, Sofia, Bulgaria

  Evgenia Krasteva-Blagoeva

Evgenia Krasteva-Blagoeva, Ph.D is Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology, New Bulgarian University, Sofia. Her research interests are in consumer culture, ethnography of socialism and postsocialism, urban anthropology, communities and identities in the Balkans, names and name giving.  Member of the Executive Commitee of InASEA - International Association of Southeast European Anthropology (2007-2014, 2016-2018) and elected President of InASEA (2014-2016). She was twice guest lecturer in the Institute of Ethnology, University ”Ludvig Maximilian”, Munich (2006,2008) and in Konitsa Summer School of Balkan Anthropology (2006,2008). Leading scholar in several research projects such as ”Fast Food and Slow Food Culture in the Beginning of 21^st century” and ”New Consumer Practices: Anthropological Perspectives”. Author of The Personal Name in Bulgarian Tradition (1999, in Bulgarian), editor in chief of Total Sale. Consumer Culture in Bulgaria (2014, in Bulgarian) author of more than 30 articles in refereed journals and edited volumes in English and German.

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