Centre for the Study of Social Systems
School of Social Sciences
CSSS Colloquium
Nita Mathur
(Professor in Sociology, IGNOU, New Delhi, CAS Visiting Fellow, CSSS, SSS, JNU)
Will be presenting a paper on
Everydayness of Consumption: Negotiating Aspirations, Choices and Identity
Date & Time: November 16, 2017 (Thursday), 3.00 pm
Venue: CSSS Committee Room (Room No: 13), SSS-II
Abstract: The objective of this presentation is twofold: first, to examine the complexities of everyday life of urban middle class, particularly youth, as they negotiate their aspirations and anxieties within the restraints and constraints that surround them; and second, to examine the complex relation between identity, ideology and consumption practices in the middle-income section of society. The key interrelated questions are: Are consumption decisions governed by utility and price considerations? Are they premised on the notion that consumption is critical to identity construction in the present day? Whether and in what way does consumer culture compromise/accommodate/challenge the ideals of austerity and self-sacrifice as also people’s nostalgia for ‘traditional’ ways of life.
Bio: Prof. Nita Mathur teaches sociology at the School of Social Sciences, Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi. She has been visiting scholar at Maison des sciences de l’homme (MSH) Paris, and visiting faculty at the School of Planning and Architecture (SPA), New Delhi and School of Environmental Studies, University of Delhi. Her books, Cultural Rhythms in Emotions, Narratives and Dance, Santhal Worldview (ed), and Consumer Culture, Modernity and Identity (ed) deal with the central issue of social construction of identity. Some of her critical publications in national and international journals are in areas of consumer culture and the middle class, folklore and performance studies, and tribal language and culture. She is currently pursuing research on lifestyle choices and construction of modern identities. At IGNOU, she has coordinated programmes and courses (jointly) and teaches the course: Research Methodology to M Phil and Ph D students.