Programme full

Friday 17 April 2015 09:00 - 10:30
ROUNDTABLE SESSIONS
Culture, Media, Sport and Consumption 2
ROUNDTABLE 4, CONFERENCE HALL, HAMISH WOOD BUILDING
'Atmosphere' in Pubs
Ruane, B., Bune, M.
(London South Bank University)
Our presentation will attempt to dissect the elusive qualities which contribute to a sense of atmosphere in public
houses and to examine why it appears to be present in certain pubs and yet curiously absent in others. We are
interested in extending Walter Benjamin's (1936) distinction between manual and technological reproduction in his
ascription of an 'aura' which pertains to an original art-work as distinct from a reproduction of it. Likewise, we maintain
that a similar distinction exists between pubs which exude originality, quirkiness and other similar qualities which tend
to be present in atmospheric pubs and which are less likely to be sensed in more homogenous, corporate
environments.
In order to investigate this phenomenon we conducted a number of semi-structured interviews with several pub-goers.
Most of our research was conducted at the Great British Beer Festival (Earls' Court, 2014) but some of it occurred in
the environs of selected pubs.
Our respondents appeared to concur to a great extent on their criteria for the perfect pub and this tallied with our own
initial thesis that 'aura' / atmosphere is related in a strong sense to the singularity of a place, to something unique or
special about it.
We believe our research could have valuable implications to support a turn away from corporate blandness and
towards a more human and genuine approach towards hospitality.
Framing the Real: Consumer Protest, Anti-McDonaldization and Its Legacies
Thurnell-Read, T.
(Coventry University)
While contemporary consumer movements such as Slow Food and Fairtrade have been subject to significant recent
academic attention, the British consumer group the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) remains under-researched and
under-theorized. Founded in 1971, CAMRA represents an early example of concerted consumer resistance against
the processes of rationalisation and standardisation associated with globalisation, the shift to neoliberal market
economics and, as defined by Ritzer (1993), the McDonaldization of Society. Throughout its existence, CAMRA has
provided a means for participants to voice fears and dissatisfaction with corporate globalisation and to imagine
alternative consumption practices informed by ideas of tradition, locality and community. Drawing on qualitative
research, including participant-observation, interviews with campaign members and organisation staff and archival
research, the paper analyses how the framing of CAMRA rhetoric, policy and activism have relied on at times
antagonistic understandings of consumption, consumer practice and identity. The paper suggests that the legacies of
CAMRA's formation and early protest activities give rise to three continued tensions within the campaign: first, an
ideological tension between an anti-corporate and pro-corporate ethos; second, a temporal tension between nostalgic
tradition and progressive innovation; and third, an institutional tension between being a marginal 'outsider' activist
group and, following a period of expansion and professionalisation, an institutionalised 'insider' campaign lobby.
Narratives of Identity and Reflections of the Past in Mass Observers’ Gambling Practice
Casey, E.
(Kingston University)
This paper draws on the findings of a recent research project into Gambling and Households funded by the ESRC.
The aim of the research was to utilise Mass Observation Archive date to garner narratives of the everyday, intimate
and domestic routines of gambling. The paper has two key intentions. The first is to examine the unique benefits of
Mass Observation in producing complex narratives of self that are connected to stories and discourses of the past.
This connects with other work which has demonstrated the importance of personal histories in developing 'shifting
senses of ourselves' (Segal, 2013: 28). As Squire (2013) argues, narratives are stories of experience rather than the
experience itself. This is especially true for Mass Observation and I will show that persistent referrals and regular
retellings of the past is a particularly potent feature of Mass Observation, making it ideally situated to revealing
complex and multiple narratives of self. The second key aim of the paper is to explore the gambling narratives
contained in the recent Gambling and Households Directive. Drawing on Riesman's (2007) contention that narratives
arise from the contradictions inherent in social life, the paper looks at how gambling narratives connect with intimate
BSA Annual Conference 2015 230
Glasgow Caledonian University