Reimagining Consumption: The Politics of Gender and Culture in History’
Consumption lies at the heart of current research in marketing, but what do we mean by consumption? Who is the consumer? What is their role inside and outside the market? What about their power? In this talk, I explore these larger questions through a historical case of England, the so-called first ‘industrial nation’. The first part of the talk provides a long-term overview, while the second half plunges into one of the most important industrial monopolies in England before the outbreak of the English Civil Wars in the 1640s: the Westminster Soap monopoly established in 1632. These episodes will invite participants to explore how cultural and gendered consumption can shape and reshape preferences, business practices and economic institutions.
Speaker Bio: Koji Yamamoto is an Associate Professor of Business History at University of Tokyo. His main publications include Taming Capitalism before its Triumph (Oxford, 2018) and Stereotypes and Stereotyping in Early Modern England (Manchester, 2022). He is the founding director of the Center for Global Advanced Studies at University of Tokyo, and is leading RUBiC – Research Unit for Business in Contexts. He is working on a book project on non-elite women, household work routines and state-formation in early modern Europe. When not working, he enjoys jogging, cooking and listening to music.
