Consuming the Black Gospel Culture: an Interpretive Study of Symbolic Exchanges

This paper investigates the meanings of Black gospel music and symbolic exchanges of gospel culture within and across gospel and non-gospel communities. Based on an ethnographic account, we analyze our informants’ lived experiences with consuming gospel music and culture. Based on the consumption orientation and based on the nature of experience, we find that gospel music consumption is characterized as indulgent, contemplative, communicative, and transcendent. We discuss how gospel music mediates to define and redefine the meanings of the culture within and across gospel communities and Others. While being commodified as a cultural product, gospel music spawns new consumer identities.

Citation:

Yuko Minowa and David S. Glover (2009) ,"Consuming the Black Gospel Culture: an Interpretive Study of Symbolic Exchanges", in NA - Advances in Consumer Research Volume 36, eds. Ann L. McGill and Sharon Shavitt, Duluth, MN : Association for Consumer Research, Pages: 266-272.