Materiality and the comfort of things: drinks, dining and discussion with Daniel Miller

Abstract

Daniel Miller is Professor of Material Culture at University College London. Miller’s foundational work in consumption studies, material culture studies and the anthropology of materiality has made profound contributions to our understanding of consumption, markets and culture. He is particularly known for Material Culture and Mass Consumption (1987), A Theory of Shopping (1998) and his edited collections Unwrapping Christmas (1995), the four‐volume Consumption: Critical Concepts in the Social Sciences (2001), and Materiality (2005). He is a tremendously prolific scholar and has worked with a large number of doctoral students. His 2008 book, The Comfort of Things, has introduced Miller to a wider audience. This interview took place in London on 25 November 2008.

Keywords:

• consumption
• material culture
• materiality
• ethnography
• intersubjectivity
• Daniel Miller

Notes

The Material World blog can be found at http://www.materialworldblog.com/