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"A crucial intervention to both critical studies of consumption and research into activism. It authoritatively explores the complex and multiplying links between branding and neoliberal culture, consumer practices and social justice."
Professor Mehita Iqani, Stellenbosch University
"Eleftheria Lekakis reminds us that as consumers, we can do much more than just buy our way out of social or political problems."
Professor Melissa Aronczyk, Rutgers University
Consumption and resistance are entwined. From buying fair-trade, to celebrity advocates for social causes, to subvertising and anti-consumerist grassroots movements, consumer activism is now a key part of our fight for social and environmental justice.
This book is a comprehensive exploration of the complexities and dilemmas of using the marketplace as an arena for politics. It goes beyond simply buying or boycotting to critically explore how individuals, collectives, corporations and governments do politics with and through consumption.
Impassioned and always accessible, Eleftheria Lekakis explores:
- The media and economic logics which privilege elite activists.
- The real opportunities to resist and redirect promotional culture.
- Consumer activism as collective and community-building.
- The politicisation of celebrity influencers.
- The centrality of digital media technology.
- A range of transnational case studies pushing the field beyond the Global North.
Consumer Activism: Promotional Culture and Resistance covers the full breadth of theory and practice you need to know. It is an essential resource for understanding, researching and engaging with the global phenomenon of consumer activism.
Dr Eleftheria Lekakis is senior lecturer in Media and Communications at the School of Media, Arts, and Humanities at the University of Sussex.
List of contents
Consumer Activism: An Introduction
Conceptualizing Consumer Activism
Nationalism, Race, Ethnicity, and Consumer Activism
Gender, Feminism and Consumer Activism
Consumer Activism in the Environment
Celebrity Advocacy and Consumer Activism
Subvertising as Anti-Consumerism
Conclusion
About the author
Eleftheria Lekakis is Senior Lecturer/Associate Professor in Media and Communications at the School of Media, Arts and Humanities at the University of Sussex. Her research focuses on communication, consumer culture, and politics. Her first book explored the relationship between fair trade consumption and political participation. She has also co-edited Art, Law, Power, a volume on the intersections of artistic practice and resistance in relation to the law. Her published work has appeared in journals such as the Journal of Consumer Culture, Popular Communication, Social Movement Studies, as well as edited collections such as the Sage Handbook of Consumer Culture, the Oxford Handbook of Political Consumerism, and the Routledge Handbook of Advertising and Promotional Culture. Eleftheria teaches on topics related to advertising and promotional culture, as well as humanitarian communication, media and social change. Eleftheria has been a visiting scholar at the University of Pennsylvania, University of Bergamo, and Universitat Pompeu Fabra.
Summary
This book is a comprehensive exploration of the complexities and dilemmas of using the marketplace as an arena for politics. It goes beyond simply buying or boycotting to critically explore how individuals, collectives, corporations and governments do politics with and through consumption.
Report
Consumers of the world, unite! Consumer Activism is both an excellent intellectual reference and a savvy guide for educators and students. Eleftheria Lekakis reminds us that as consumers, we can do much more than just buy our way out of social or political problems. Through creative and collective efforts, consumers can work to end unfair and inequitable market practices, and can promote concerted action on such major issues as climate change, racial justice or women s rights. Rich with key concepts, contemporary themes, and provocative case studies, this book will foster necessary conversations about power and politics in consumer culture.
Melissa Aronczyk
