Materiality, Agency, and the Constitution of Consuming Subjects: Insights For Consumer Research

ABSTRACT - What do consumer researchers mean when they claim that consumer selves are Atransformed@, Acreated@, Aexpressed@, or Aemancipated@ in relation to objects and contexts in consumer culture? What are the relations between subjects and objects that are being proposed, called upon, or assumed in such consumer research? More specifically, what versions of materiality are consumer researchers using? Such questions highlight a concern with the ontological assumptions about subject identity, or self, and its relations to othersBand moreover, to consumption objects. Using anthropologist Daniel Miller’s theory of materiality as an illustrative example, this article demonstrates the importance of explicitly conceptualizing the consumer self’s formation, both generally and in relation to influential articulations in primarily interpretive consumer research. Miller’s theory of materiality, based as it is in theoretical reflections upon material practices drawn from extensive anthropological research (Miller 1987; 1994; 1998), presents compelling material for the study of consumer processes and practices. Miller’s prolific work in material culture and consumption studies includes an explicit theory of materiality that consumer research should no longer ignore.



Citation:

Janet Borgerson (2005) ,"Materiality, Agency, and the Constitution of Consuming Subjects: Insights For Consumer Research", in NA - Advances in Consumer Research Volume 32, eds. Geeta Menon and Akshay R. Rao, Duluth, MN : Association for Consumer Research, Pages: 439-443.

Authors

Janet Borgerson, University of Exeter



Volume

NA - Advances in Consumer Research Volume 32 | 2005



Share Proceeding

Featured papers

See More

Featured

E12. Green versus Premium Choice and Feelings of Pride

Cecilia Souto Maior, Federal University of Paraná
Danielle Mantovani, Federal University of Paraná
Rafael Demczuk, Federal University of Paraná

Read More

Featured

D5. Bragging about Effort? Personal Effort Decreases Word-of-Mouth

JIEXIAN (Chloe) HUANG, Hong Kong Polytechic University
Yuwei Jiang, Hong Kong Polytechic University

Read More

Featured

F7. Mere Packaging and Consumer Choice

Tim Philipp Doering, University of Michigan, USA
Katherine Burson, University of Michigan, USA
Andrew D Gershoff, University of Texas at Austin, USA

Read More

Engage with Us

Becoming an Association for Consumer Research member is simple. Membership in ACR is relatively inexpensive, but brings significant benefits to its members.