When Culture Goes to Market [Hardcover]

Robert J. Shepherd (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 4, 2007 | ISBN-10: 1433101947 | ISBN-13: 978-1433101946

When Culture Goes to Market encompasses an ethnographic study of Washington, DC's Eastern Market, a popular weekend produce and flea market, and the people who constitute it: vendors, market supervisors, and customers. By analyzing how this marketplace, in contrast to theoretical notions of "The Market", functions as a social institution embedded in a particular time, place, and series of social relationships, Shepherd examines how urban public space is produced, reproduced, and shaped by larger economic and social processes. In doing so, he explores the practical limits to formalized bureaucratic planning in the success of this street market. Crossing disciplinary boundaries, When Culture Goes to Market is an excellent practical case study for courses in urban planning, microeconomics, cultural studies, urban and economic anthropology, and sociology.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Robert J. Shepherd is Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Honors at The George Washington University. Dr. Shepherd’s work on tourism, cultural heritage issues, and the place of cultural products in market exchange has appeared in Southeast Asia Research; Consumption, Markets, and Culture; the International Journal of Cultural Studies; and the Journal of Contemporary Asia, among other publications.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 181 pages
• Publisher: Peter Lang Publishing (December 4, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1433101947
• ISBN-13: 978-1433101946
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,796,044 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Theory meets reality., June 2, 2008

By 

Stephen J. Ackerman "S.J. Ackerman" (Washington DC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: When Culture Goes to Market (Hardcover)

Shepherd grounds socio-economic theory in the real-life experience of DC's Eastern Market, and particularly its diverse array of vendors, pricking the sentimental myths about the venerable space fearlessly. The human narratives more than redeem the adademic jargon requisite in a scholarly study. Regular readers will find provocative insight here, not just anthropologists. Shepherd is especially valuable in summing up the "Thirty Years War" rival community forces waged to impose their own versions of "saving" the long-neglected 1873 market house. This is a stimulating, accessible study capturing the complexity of this market space.