Ann Brooks

Personal Branding and the Commodification of Reflexivity

Reflexivity as a concept has produced theoretical debates which have explored the relationship of social actors to agency and identity. Less attention has been paid to reflexivity as a commodity, that is, to the forms of reflexivity that different actors display and to the appropriateness of these forms. Actors who display appropriate forms of reflexivity are likely to be treated differently from actors who do not display such forms, thus resulting in a differential distribution of agency. It is increasingly apparent that reflexivity is a desired commodity which is not available to everyone. In other words, reflexivity as commodity implicates reflexivity as cultural capital. This article explores these issues through an analysis of personal branding and considers how reflexivity and personal branding are in fact emergent from cultural production.

Gendered work in Asian cities : the new economy and changing labour markets

Contents: Introduction: globalization and the new dynamics of inequality Globalization, gender and changing work cultures in Asia Researching gender and professional work cultures in two global cities in Asia Gender equity and organizational constraints in professional labour markets Leadership and management issues for professional women in organizational structures Intimacy, work and family life: social and personal issues confronting professional women in global cities The new economy, professional women and social change Conclusion Bibliography Index.

Popular culture : global intercultural perspectives

Chapter on Hip-Hop, hybridity and globalisation. Examines the theoretical approaches to hybridity and cultural processes. Looks at examples of hip-hop in Germany and hip-hop in the UK but specifically in Bristol.Introduction: Popular Culture, A Hybrid Field of Study 1. Popular Culture, Hybridity and Cultural Consumption 2. Cultural Consumption and Cultural Identity 3. Popular Culture, Hybridity and Identity 4. Fashion and Style - the Material Dimension 5. Dance, Body and Popular Culture 6. Popular Culture, Hybridity and Hip-Hop - Peter Webb 7. Visual Popular Culture 8. Digital Technology and Social Networking. Conclusion

The Cultural Production of Consumption as Achievement

In this article, we identify two models of consumer culture: the more familiar appeasement model where the “customer is king,” as well as a less established and recently emergent achievement model where the consumer’s efforts in consummating the act of consumption are lauded and celebrated. This raises the question of how the two models might be related to each other. Here we argue that the spread of neoliberal ideology, where the neoliberal subject is constituted as one who prides herself or himself on demonstrating entrepreneurial qualities, who thrives under competitive conditions, and who is comfortable displaying these qualities in the context of public scrutiny, has led to the cultivation of the enterprising consumer. We also show how the technologies of government employed in the cultural production of the enterprising consumer differ, and necessarily so, from those employed in the case of the enterprising producer.