This workshop invites participants to engage critically and creatively with theory currently used in the sociology of consumption. It originates from our sense that the sociology of consumption would benefit from theoretical innovation and renewal. We are commonly encouraged to conduct theoretically-informed empirical research. Journals expect research to be presented within a theoretical frame and editors ask for a theoretical contribution from article reporting empirical research findings. Which theories should we employ, and how should we go about using them?

This session aims to revitalise and diversify our theoretical toolbox the better to conduct and frame empirical research projects. Through interactive exercises, we will explore how different theoretical lenses direct empirical focus and interpretation, and we will experiment with use of multiple theories. The workshop will consist of practical experiments including, describing, swapping, dissecting and building theories. We hope to ignite reflection on the assumptions, strengths, and blind spots of various approaches, and consider strategies for developing new sets of conceptual tools. The session concludes with a collective discussion on the prospects for theoretical renewal in consumption studies.

Participants will be required to select an article or chapter (preferably one of their own recent pieces) which reports on a piece of empirical research and which has explicitly (or not) an identifiable theoretical or conceptual framework. Its empirical core and theoretical or conceptual anchoring should be amenable to summary within a maximum of 10 minutes.