There is now considerable consensus in academic and government/policy circles regarding the social and psychological implications of changes that have taken place in the structures and institutions of advanced industrial societies over the past 50 years. With the decline of large-scale manufacturing industries and changes to traditional family forms, the long-standing bases for social and personal identities such as occupation, family and neighbourhood appear to be eroded and consumption has come to play an increasingly important role in shaping our sense of ourselves and our place in the world.

However pervasive these ideas have become, research in this area has been disparate and contradictory (though frequently innovative), and located in a range of academic disciplines and local and national contexts. This state of affairs has resulted in part form a lack of dialogue between researchers working on issues relevant to the relationship between identity and consumption in different academic disciplines and in different contexts.

This seminar series aims to provide a forum for researchers from different academic disciplines and different contexts to build collaborative links and develop a more systematic understanding of the relationship between identity and consumption. It is aimed at anyone who is actively involved in academic research, working in a professional capacity or involved in the development of social policy initiatives concerned with the topics covered in the series.