Dr Paul Hewer

Personal statement

I am a member of the Consumption, Markets and Society research group within the Department of Marketing, a vibrant group of researchers with the ambition to further understanding of contemporary consumption and its tensions and consequences. I draw on a range of social theories around notions of consumption practices, celebrity brands, community, identity work and consumption spaces to further understanding of marketing practices. Research leadership is clearly expressed through my ability to lead projects on a range of consumption topics to publication to enhance understanding of consumption practices.  Such projects have more recently included research around the notions of celebrity branding and celebrity culture, the disciplinary potential of critical marketing, vintage consumption, car consumption and practices of 'debadging', culinary consumption, dance (salsa magic), global football brands and consuming gardens. Current work includes: Paul Hewer, Kathy Hamilton and Ali Jafari a Sage Library Series Four Volume set entitled New Directions in Consumer Research (2015).  I was the co-editor of the Journal of Marketing Management, a premier international journal in the marketing field which seeks to publish work at the forefront of marketing theory and practice (2010-2016).  Book chapters which highlight my current research thinking and focus include: Paul Hewer 'Fraught contexts and mediated culinary practices: ontological practices and politics' (2016) in Benedetta Cappellini, David Marshall and Elizabeth Parsons (eds) The Practice of the Meal: Food, Families and the market place (Routledge); Paul Hewer 'Thinking Waste Sociologically' in Karin Ekstrom Waste Management and Sustainable Consumption: Reflections on consumer waste' (Routledge). Recent Journal of Consumer Culture published papers include: Paul Hewer, Martin Gannon & Renzo Cordina (2016) "Discordant fandom and global football brands: 'let the people sing'" Journal of Consumer Culture (2017) and 'Reimagining the terrain of liquid times: reflexive marketing and the sociological imagination' (2020). I am keen to hear from prospective PhD students in the areas of consumption, markets and culture, especially those looking to employ an ethnographic/visual lens to their research.