2016
Väistö, Terhi
Children’s discourse on development in online and offline fields: A study of positions and symbolic power Väitöskirja
Markkinointi, Aalto-yliopisto, 2016, ISBN: 978-952-60-6847-3.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Avainsanat: childhood, consumer culture, consumer socialization, englanninkieliset väitöskirjat, field theory
@phdthesis{Väistö2016,
title = {Children’s discourse on development in online and offline fields: A study of positions and symbolic power},
author = {Terhi Väistö},
url = {http://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-60-6848-0},
isbn = {978-952-60-6847-3},
year = {2016},
date = {2016-01-01},
school = {Markkinointi, Aalto-yliopisto},
abstract = {Children's relationship to consumption is uneasy: children are understood of as either vulnerable and in in need of protection or as competent and agentic consumers. Childhood and consumption has most often been studied through the concept of consumer socialization. Consumer socialization relies on a developmental understanding of children that considers children as becomings rather than beings in the now. Instead of this conventional approach to the study of childhood, I take a more active view of children in this dissertation. My aim is to understand children's consumption of online games in the now, as active participants within their peer groups. I have approached this subject by using Bourdieu's field theory, which puts emphasis on positions of agents and symbolic power in relations between agents within competitive fields. This dissertation is based on data collected in both online and offline contexts. For the offline part of this study, I have conducted group interviews with children aged 10-11 in two elementary schools in Finland. Online, I did netnographic research in an online world of a game called MovieStarPlanet. I analyzed children's communication with respect to these two contexts to better understand their positions and power relations. This dissertation contributes to two streams of literature. First, it contributes to the literature on Bourdieuan fields in Consumer Culture Theory (CCT). Contributions to this literature are threefold: First, I show how within their marginalized social space children build capital within specific fields. Second, I argue that development is the part of the underlying logic behind children's experiences in these fields. Finally, I contribute to this literature by focusing on intrafield status competition and the specific positions taken discursively within a field. By considering children's peer cultures as fields, I also contribute to the childhood, and childhood and consumption literatures. I reveal how the relations between the popular and the unpopular function within and online and an offline context. I also show how, rather than merely passively going through developmental stages, children discursively "do" development in relation to capitals in fields.},
keywords = {childhood, consumer culture, consumer socialization, englanninkieliset väitöskirjat, field theory},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {phdthesis}
}
Children's relationship to consumption is uneasy: children are understood of as either vulnerable and in in need of protection or as competent and agentic consumers. Childhood and consumption has most often been studied through the concept of consumer socialization. Consumer socialization relies on a developmental understanding of children that considers children as becomings rather than beings in the now. Instead of this conventional approach to the study of childhood, I take a more active view of children in this dissertation. My aim is to understand children's consumption of online games in the now, as active participants within their peer groups. I have approached this subject by using Bourdieu's field theory, which puts emphasis on positions of agents and symbolic power in relations between agents within competitive fields. This dissertation is based on data collected in both online and offline contexts. For the offline part of this study, I have conducted group interviews with children aged 10-11 in two elementary schools in Finland. Online, I did netnographic research in an online world of a game called MovieStarPlanet. I analyzed children's communication with respect to these two contexts to better understand their positions and power relations. This dissertation contributes to two streams of literature. First, it contributes to the literature on Bourdieuan fields in Consumer Culture Theory (CCT). Contributions to this literature are threefold: First, I show how within their marginalized social space children build capital within specific fields. Second, I argue that development is the part of the underlying logic behind children's experiences in these fields. Finally, I contribute to this literature by focusing on intrafield status competition and the specific positions taken discursively within a field. By considering children's peer cultures as fields, I also contribute to the childhood, and childhood and consumption literatures. I reveal how the relations between the popular and the unpopular function within and online and an offline context. I also show how, rather than merely passively going through developmental stages, children discursively "do" development in relation to capitals in fields.
Seregina, Anastasia
Performing fantasy and reality Väitöskirja
Markkinointi, Aalto-yliopisto, 2016.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Avainsanat: art-based research, consumer culture, englanninkieliset väitöskirjat, fantasy, imagination, larp, performance, theatre
@phdthesis{Seregina2016,
title = {Performing fantasy and reality},
author = {Anastasia Seregina},
url = {https://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-60-6902-9},
year = {2016},
date = {2016-01-01},
urldate = {2016-01-01},
school = {Markkinointi, Aalto-yliopisto},
abstract = {Fantasy is a phenomenon that has a strong presence in both everyday life and in research. Fantasy is a central part of contemporary, consumption-oriented culture through its strong ties to the development of identity, the construction of communities, the attainment of desires, and the creation of meanings. Nevertheless, fantasy in itself is rarely the focus of research and thus remains undefined and under-explained. Moreover, research that does note fantasy tends to accentuate only its entertaining and leisurely aspects, presenting it as something unserious, irrational, and escapist. Studies further tend to present fantasy as something purely cognitive and imagery-based. However, fantasy is also a bodily and shared experience that is tied to materiality, space, and culture. It therefore becomes important to explore fantasy as a phenomenon in its own right from a bodily and negotiated point of view.
In this research, I explored how individuals engage in the performance of fantasy in order to gain a better understanding of the phenomenon as a subjective experience that is a part of contemporary Western culture. Talking on a performance methodology that focuses on experience, participation, and interaction, I collected data ethnographically in the context of live action role-playing games. I supported the ethnography with art-based research that took form in visual art addressing the theory and data analysis of this study.
I propose that fantasy can be described as the conscious engagement in two parallel performances, the performance of reality and its transformation that is outside of our symbolic order. Fantasy is therefore a different approach to and interpretation of normalised performance and reality. I further show that fantasy is intrinsically tied into the performance of reality. Fantasy allows investment into reality through its explicitly reflexive nature that pushes individuals to become aware of and thus also critical of the structures of their everyday performances. Lastly, I map out two different types of fantasy performance, entertainment-driven fantasy and exploration-driven fantasy. These differ in the ways individuals negotiate roles, interaction, space, time, and materiality as part of the performance. Entertainment-driven fantasy allows momentary attainment of personal desires, while exploration-driven fantasy leads to more long-term agency through reflexive learning.
All in all, this research brings new insight into the understanding of fantasy as part of contemporary consumer culture, tying it into experiences of space, materiality, agency, desire, Utopia, nostalgia, mass media, and entertainment. Through shedding light on fantasy's intrinsic connection to reality, this study examines not only the human experience of the non-real, but also our current subjective experience of reality, society, and shared meaning.},
keywords = {art-based research, consumer culture, englanninkieliset väitöskirjat, fantasy, imagination, larp, performance, theatre},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {phdthesis}
}
Fantasy is a phenomenon that has a strong presence in both everyday life and in research. Fantasy is a central part of contemporary, consumption-oriented culture through its strong ties to the development of identity, the construction of communities, the attainment of desires, and the creation of meanings. Nevertheless, fantasy in itself is rarely the focus of research and thus remains undefined and under-explained. Moreover, research that does note fantasy tends to accentuate only its entertaining and leisurely aspects, presenting it as something unserious, irrational, and escapist. Studies further tend to present fantasy as something purely cognitive and imagery-based. However, fantasy is also a bodily and shared experience that is tied to materiality, space, and culture. It therefore becomes important to explore fantasy as a phenomenon in its own right from a bodily and negotiated point of view.
In this research, I explored how individuals engage in the performance of fantasy in order to gain a better understanding of the phenomenon as a subjective experience that is a part of contemporary Western culture. Talking on a performance methodology that focuses on experience, participation, and interaction, I collected data ethnographically in the context of live action role-playing games. I supported the ethnography with art-based research that took form in visual art addressing the theory and data analysis of this study.
I propose that fantasy can be described as the conscious engagement in two parallel performances, the performance of reality and its transformation that is outside of our symbolic order. Fantasy is therefore a different approach to and interpretation of normalised performance and reality. I further show that fantasy is intrinsically tied into the performance of reality. Fantasy allows investment into reality through its explicitly reflexive nature that pushes individuals to become aware of and thus also critical of the structures of their everyday performances. Lastly, I map out two different types of fantasy performance, entertainment-driven fantasy and exploration-driven fantasy. These differ in the ways individuals negotiate roles, interaction, space, time, and materiality as part of the performance. Entertainment-driven fantasy allows momentary attainment of personal desires, while exploration-driven fantasy leads to more long-term agency through reflexive learning.
All in all, this research brings new insight into the understanding of fantasy as part of contemporary consumer culture, tying it into experiences of space, materiality, agency, desire, Utopia, nostalgia, mass media, and entertainment. Through shedding light on fantasy's intrinsic connection to reality, this study examines not only the human experience of the non-real, but also our current subjective experience of reality, society, and shared meaning.
In this research, I explored how individuals engage in the performance of fantasy in order to gain a better understanding of the phenomenon as a subjective experience that is a part of contemporary Western culture. Talking on a performance methodology that focuses on experience, participation, and interaction, I collected data ethnographically in the context of live action role-playing games. I supported the ethnography with art-based research that took form in visual art addressing the theory and data analysis of this study.
I propose that fantasy can be described as the conscious engagement in two parallel performances, the performance of reality and its transformation that is outside of our symbolic order. Fantasy is therefore a different approach to and interpretation of normalised performance and reality. I further show that fantasy is intrinsically tied into the performance of reality. Fantasy allows investment into reality through its explicitly reflexive nature that pushes individuals to become aware of and thus also critical of the structures of their everyday performances. Lastly, I map out two different types of fantasy performance, entertainment-driven fantasy and exploration-driven fantasy. These differ in the ways individuals negotiate roles, interaction, space, time, and materiality as part of the performance. Entertainment-driven fantasy allows momentary attainment of personal desires, while exploration-driven fantasy leads to more long-term agency through reflexive learning.
All in all, this research brings new insight into the understanding of fantasy as part of contemporary consumer culture, tying it into experiences of space, materiality, agency, desire, Utopia, nostalgia, mass media, and entertainment. Through shedding light on fantasy's intrinsic connection to reality, this study examines not only the human experience of the non-real, but also our current subjective experience of reality, society, and shared meaning.