Market hydraulics and subjectivities in the “wild”: circulations of the flea market

Hansson, N. & Brembeck, H. (2015). Culture Unbound: Journal of Current Cultural Research, 7(1). doi:10.3384/cu.2000.1525.1571

Platform
Gothenburg
Publication type
Scientific article (peer-reviewed)
Projects
Kommersen 2.0: Culture Analytical planning North Masthugget
Journal
Culture Unbound: Journal of Current Cultural Research
ISSN/ISBN
2000-1525
DOI
10.3384/cu.2000.1525.1571
Author(s)
Hansson, N Brembeck, H
Published year
Tags
Flea markets actor-network theory circulation consumption second-hand subjectivity Cochoy

 

Abstract

Since consumer researchers started paying attention to flea markets they represent common consumer and market research objects. Arguably, in the "natural labora-tory" of the flea market, researchers can observe and theorize market and con-sumer processes "in the wild", as forms of direct marketing and consumption. We build on existing flea market research through adopting a circulatory approach, inspired by actor-network theory (ANT). Rather than presenting a theory of (flea) markets, ANT is useful for studying markets from the perspective of grounded market-making processes. Consumption is understood as the interplay of consum-ers, marketers, retailers, and a wide array of artifacts and market mediators like products, economic theories and ideas, packaging, market space (in the physical sense) and furniture, etc. Our results point out that not only does such an approach enable analysis of features commonly studied within consumer research such as calculative action and social interaction, but also issues more rarely in focus in such research, such as cognitive patterns of consumer curiosity, emotions, senses, and affect. Furthermore, even though flea markets foremost are places of com-merce and exchange of second hand goods, there is a large variety of other forms of flows or circulations going on "backstage" that enable the surface phenomena of second hand consumption to come into being. Many of these circulations, we argue, are material rather than immaterial Vendor and buyer subjectivities are thus understood as outcomes of circulatory dynamism that involves a range of material and immaterial flows.

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