What is consumer culture research and consumer culture theory (CCT)?
Research on consumer culture examines consumer behavior from a social and/or cultural perspective. Consumer culture theory (CCT) is a prominent theoretical and methodological orientation toward research on consumer culture. CCT research is practiced primarily by students and faculty who are associated with marketing departments at business schools, as well as with departments that focus on fields that are related to marketing, such as advertising or retailing. Among business-school researchers, consumer culture research and consumer culture theory (CCT) is often contrasted with research that examines consumer behavior from a psychological and/or economic perspective. Consumer culture research also includes research done by practitioners (for example, anthropologists employed by companies) as well as by those in academic disciplines such as history, sociology, and anthropology. For more information on consumer culture theory (CCT), visit the Wikipedia entry on CCT or get a copy of this article from the Journal of Consumer Research.
What is The Southern California Consumer Culture Community (SC4)?
SC4 is a relatively informal community of people who are interested in consumer culture. The community includes professors, graduate students and practitioners. A majority of community members are from the greater Southern Californian area, and are associated with various universities in the area across their business and communication schools.
What are SC4’s main activites?
Each year, SC4 sponsors and holds 6 discussion sessions, which focus on topics relating to consumer culture. There is no fee for attending these events. A majority of SC4 discussion sessions are led by a researcher who presents a current or recent research project. SC4 welcomes presentations of works in progress. With a few exceptions, SC4 provides a light lunch at each of our discussion sessions.
Where can I find this year’s schedule of events?
Click on “Events” above.
Who can attend SC4 events?
SC4 events are open to anyone who is interested in attending. Attendees tend to be Southern-California area academics (faculty members and graduate students) but also include visitors from out of town, unaffiliated researchers, non-academic professionals working in the broad area of consumer culture, or other interested members of the public. If you are planning to attend an event, please let us know by email one week before the event so we can be sure there’s enough food for everyone.
Is there an email list for announcing SC4 events?
Yes. If you would like to be automatically notified of upcoming events, let us know by email, and we’ll be happy to add you to the SC4 emailing list. We send an average of 1 email per month. SC4 does not share its email list with any other organization, and the mailing list is used for SC4 business only.
Can I present at a SC4 event?
Yes! We ask for volunteers once or twice a year and when more than one person is interested in presenting on a particular date, we randomly select. To receive our emails (including those asking for volunteer speakers), see the instructions above for joining our email list.
Does SC4 feature only Southern California-area speakers?
Although many of our speakers are from the local area, we anticipate we may have volunteer speakers from the greater West Coast area, and we occasionally have volunteer speakers from outside the area whose travel plans are already bringing them to Southern California.
When are the SC4 events?
SC4 events are held from 11:30AM – 1:00 PM and you can find this year’s schedule by clicking “Events” above. Lunch is served at each event.
Where do the SC4 events take place?
SC4 events are hosted by various universities in Southern California. Please see the schedule of events to see where the events will take place, who will host, and who will share their research.