[ecrea] Book Announcement: The Cultural Intermediaries Reader

The Cultural Intermediaries Reader
edited by Jennifer Smith Maguire and Julian Matthews
http://www.uk.sagepub.com/books/Book236720?siteId=sage-uk&prodTypes=any&q=cultural+intermediaries&fs=1 


"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:

    * 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.

The book will be an essential point of reference for scholars and 
students in sociology, critical management, cultural studies, and media 
studies with an interest in cultural economy, creative labour, and the 
past, present and future intersections between production and consumption.

Table of Contents:

PART ONE: Conceptual and Methodological Foundations
Bourdieu on Cultural Intermediaries     Jennifer Smith Maguire
Cultural Work and Creative Industries     Toby Miller
T3. Cultural Intermediaries or Market Device?: The Case of Advertising 
    Sean Nixon
The Problem Of Cultural Intermediaries in the Economy Of Qualities     
Liz McFall
Ethnographic Research and Cultural Intermediaries     Giselinde Kuipers
PART TWO: Cultural Intermediary Case Studies
Advertising     Aidan Kelly
Branding     Liz Moor
Public Relations Practitioners     Caroline E.M. Hodges and Lee Edwards
Arts Promotion     Victoria Durrer and Dave O’Brien
Fashion     Lise Skov
Popular Music     Charles Fairchild
Lifestyle Media     Tania Lewis
Journalism     Julian Matthews
Fitness     Jennifer Smith Maguire
Clothing     Lynne Pettinger
Book Retail     David Wright
Food and Drink     Richard E. Ocejo
 --
Dr Julian Matthews
Department of Media and Communication
3.08 Bankfield House, 132 New Walk
University of Leicester
Leicester, LE1 7JA
T: +44(0)116 2522582
F: +44(0)116 2525276
E: (jpm29 /at/ leicester.ac.uk)
W: 
http://www2.le.ac.uk/departments/media/people/julian-matthews/julian-matthews-profile

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