International Social Science Journal (Chinese Edition)

No.3, 2022

 

Taste distinction, hedonist desire, and intimacy: three contemporary themes of sociology of consumption

(Abstract)

 

Yufan Sun

 

Since the 1980s, the sociology of consumption has flourished. During the period, structural, cultural, and everyday life analyses maintained the three well-recognized approaches in the field. This article attempts to summarize landmark-like works including Pierre Bourdieu’s structural studies in Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste, Colin Campbell’s cultural analysis in The Romantic Ethic and the Spirit of Modern Consumerism, and Viviana Zelizer’s everyday life orientation in her books. Based on the summary, this article reviews their critical acceptance and development by arguing that the three themes have been reconstructed theoretically and empirically.