Collecting in Contemporary Practice.

We cite from the cover:
"This clear and lively book provides an illuminating analysis of collecting as a major social and individual phenomenon in contemporary society.
The emphasis of the book lies in understanding collecting practice, rather than the collections themselves. The author highlights the significance of collecting in relation to the cultural process, popular culture, contemporary attitudes to material culture, and the idea of collecting as a postmodern activity.
Susan Pearce presents both quantitative and qualitative information from a broad spectrum of contemporary collectors and relates their collecting to wider issues of consumption, gender, family and social class. Accessible and original, Collecting in Contemporary Practice will be of interest to students, academics and professionals in museum studies, cultural studies, anthropology and material culture studies.
SUSAN PEARCE is Professor of Museum Studies and Dean of Arts at the University of Leicester. She is most recently author of Museums, Objects and Collections (1992), On Collecting: An Investigation into Collecting in the European Tradition (1995) and Experiencing Culture in the Western World (1997)."
CONTENTS :
1. Collecting Culture ;
2. Who and What ;
3. Work and Play ;
4. Buying and Giving ;
5. Families and Homes ;
6. Women and Men ;
7. Body and Soul ;
8. Contemporary Collecting ;
Appendix: The Contemporary Collecting in Britain Survey ;
Bibliography ;
Index.