Conference tackles consumption, media and political culture

The intersection of consumer and political culture will be explored by scholars from across the United States and western Europe in a two-day conference beginning Friday, Oct. 20, at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Called “The Politics of Consumption/The Consumption of Politics,” the conference at Vilas Hall will bring to life the conversations of politicians, social activists and public-minded citizens.

“We’ll be sharing research insights and discussing issues of media, consumption, politics and civic life,” says Dhavan Shah, a journalism professor and one of the conference organizers.

Sessions on Friday will begin at 9 a.m. in 4070 Vilas Hall, 821 University Ave., and discuss issues such as online political consumption, political brands and consumer citizens, and contemporary consumer culture and the politics of consumption.

Saturday’s sessions will examine such issues as consumerism as a state project after World War II and what citizens need from the media. The sessions are free and open to UW–Madison faculty and students.

Faculty and graduate students within the School of Journalism and Mass Communication organized the conference.

It is co-sponsored with support from the Department of Communication Arts; the Department of Marketing; the Department of Political Science; the Center for Communication and Democracy; the Center for European Studies; the Center for German and European Studies; the Center for International Business Education and Research; the Center for Politics; the Center for World Affairs and the Global Economy; and the Global Studies Program. Underwritten by a grant from the Journal Foundation/Walter J. Clara Charlotte Damm Fund.