The Cultural Intermediaries Reader
Edited by:
- Jennifer Smith Maguire - University of Leicester, UK
- Julian Matthews - University of Leicester, UK
September 2014 | 256 pages | SAGE Publications Ltd
"A rich selection of readings that expose the shadowy underworld of critics, bloggers, tweeters and stylists who have become essential guides to the good life of cultural consumption... a long overdue examination of how cultural intermediaries work, and how their work supports the new capitalist economy."
- Sharon Zukin, Brooklyn College and City University
"An array of talented contributors, skilfully brought together by the editors, show how the concept of cultural intermediaries can cast light on cultural production, and on media, culture and society."
- David Hesmondhalgh, University of Leeds
Cultural intermediaries are the taste makers defining what counts as good taste and cool culture in today's marketplace. Working at the intersection of culture and economy, they perform critical operations in the production and promotion of consumption, constructing legitimacy and adding value through the qualification of goods. Too often, these are processes that remain invisible to the consumer's eye and in scholarly debates about creative industries.
The Cultural Intermediaries Reader offers the first, comprehensive introduction to this exciting field of research, providing the conceptual and practical tools needed to analyse these market actors. The book:
- Sharon Zukin, Brooklyn College and City University
"An array of talented contributors, skilfully brought together by the editors, show how the concept of cultural intermediaries can cast light on cultural production, and on media, culture and society."
- David Hesmondhalgh, University of Leeds
Cultural intermediaries are the taste makers defining what counts as good taste and cool culture in today's marketplace. Working at the intersection of culture and economy, they perform critical operations in the production and promotion of consumption, constructing legitimacy and adding value through the qualification of goods. Too often, these are processes that remain invisible to the consumer's eye and in scholarly debates about creative industries.
The Cultural Intermediaries Reader offers the first, comprehensive introduction to this exciting field of research, providing the conceptual and practical tools needed to analyse these market actors. The book:
- Surveys the theoretical terrain through accessible, in-depth primers to key approaches (Pierre Bourdieu, Michel Callon and the new economic sociology).
- Equips readers with a practical guide to methodology that highlights the central features and challenges of conducting cultural intermediary research.
- Challenges stereotypes and narrow views of cultural work through a diverse range of case studies, including creative directors of advertising and branding campaigns, music critics, lifestyle chefs, assistants in book shops and fashion outlets, personal trainers, bartenders and more.
- Brings the field to life through a wealth of ethnographic data from research in the US, UK and around the world, in original chapters written by some of the leading scholars in the field.
- Invites readers to engage with proposed new directions for research, and comparative analyses of cultural intermediaries’ historical development, material practices, and cultural and economic impacts.
PART ONE: Conceptual and Methodological Foundations
Jennifer Smith Maguire
Bourdieu on Cultural Intermediaries
Toby Miller
Cultural Work and Creative Industries
Sean Nixon
T3. Cultural Intermediaries or Market Device?: The Case of Advertising
Liz McFall
The Problem Of Cultural Intermediaries in the Economy Of Qualities
Giselinde Kuipers
Ethnographic Research and Cultural Intermediaries
PART TWO: Cultural Intermediary Case Studies
Aidan Kelly
Advertising
Liz Moor
Branding
Caroline E.M. Hodges and Lee Edwards
Public Relations Practitioners
Victoria Durrer and Dave O’Brien
Arts Promotion
Lise Skov
Fashion
Charles Fairchild
Popular Music
Tania Lewis
Lifestyle Media
Julian Matthews
Journalism
Jennifer Smith Maguire
Fitness
Lynne Pettinger
Clothing
David Wright
Book Retail
Richard E. Ocejo
Food and Drink
A book which helps to develop more in-depth understanding of diversity.
Social Work , Canterbury Christ Church University
December 10, 2014
Global and international aspects of the theme is not detailed sufficiently.
Faculty of Communication, Izmir University of Economics
December 10, 2014