Call for submission: Patriotic (Non) Consumption: Food, Fashion and Media

TIMELINE

1 March 2016 – submit an extended abstract / description of your submission (300-500 words in English); abstracts of research articles should include an outline of the contribution, methodological and theoretical underpinnings and some preliminary information on the findings
15  March 2016 - notification of acceptance
1 June 2016 – submit your contribution
Summer 2016 – peer reviews and revisions
Autumn 2016 – publication of the special issue 

Guest-edited by Olga Gurova (University of Helsinki), Ekaterina Kalinina (Södertörn University), Jessie Labov (Ohio State University), Vlad Strukov (University of Leeds)

The economic crises of 2008-present and the recent political confrontations have shaped patterns of patriotic consumption and non-consumption (a refusal to consume particular types of products, symbols and discourses) in the countries of the Central, Eastern and Southern Europe as well as Central Asia, Caucasus and Russia, signaling their participation in the global economy as consumer societies.

They argue that these countries are consumer societies similar to the western or any other consumer societies, while possessing differences specific to this particular geographical region. These differences could be explained by historical, socio-cultural and political reasons, which often define the frames of patriotic (non) consumption. For example, the economic sanctions imposed on Russia by the western countries, following Russia’s annexation of Crimea, led to anti-western sanctions imposed by Russia, which resulted in ‘patriotic’ refusal to consume some western products. These especially have affected producers of food, fashion and media in the region.  For instance, Ukraine recently applied embargo to a wide range of Russian products as a response to Russia’s ban on Ukrainian imports, while some Baltic states have banned Russian television channels. In addition, "buy local” campaigns are typically motivated by concerns for the ecology or small business in many countries, but in Hungary and Slovakia they have developed a distinctly patriotic – and even sometimes nationalist – flavour. These are just some examples of patriotic (non) consumption and changes in consumption patterns. Hence we invite authors to contribute with empirical studies of similar processes in the countries of the region, focusing on the relationship between (non) consumption and media / digital cultures.

Additionally, they wish to examine the role of (non) consumption and patriotism / nationalism in a historical context. The relationship between consumption and ethnicity / nationalism has produced a steady stream of scholarship starting from the 1980s to the present. More recently, there has been a surge of scholarly interest in consumerism during the socialist era and how it has affected post-socialist consumption. Now they would like to explore how all of these factors have led to changes in consumption in this region during the era of social media.

They also want to study patriotic (non) consumption from a theoretical viewpoint.  How can they conceptualise patriotic (non) consumption? How does non-consumption link with negative self-identification? How do Russians account for their anti-western stance and their own conspicuous consumption? Is non-consumption a new form of media rhetoric and cultural denominator that has supplanted the era of glamour? How do governments, media companies and users in the region imbue neo-liberal systems of consumption with their own nationalist agenda?

They are particularly interested in media discourses about consumption and patriotism and in how media influence patriotic (non) consumption in the region. What has been the role of media, especially digital social media, in constructing a sense of belonging and patriotism through the discourse of (non) consumption? How has digital culture impacted our understanding of (non) consumption? How do users navigate between the media rhetoric of patriotic boycotting and patriotic ‘buy-cotting’? How does patriotic consumer capitalism work in the era of accelerated globalisation and mediatisation of culture? These are some of the questions we wish to explore in our special issue.

They invite a range of submissions:
1) research articles (7-9,000 words, external peer reviews);
2) essays (4-5,000 words, internal peer reviews);
3) digital memoirs (see the journal site for more information);
4) interviews;
5) image and video galleries documenting the developments and exploring the topic using audio-visual media.

They will consider submissions in English and Russian (for contributions in other languages please contact the guest editors for an initial consultation).

Please submit your abstract by e-mail: patriotic.non.consumption@gmail.com

e-mail: patriotic.non.consumption@gmail.com