Alessandro Gerosa
Researcher in Cultural Sociology
The Hipster Economy is out!
My first book, the Hipster Economy (UCL Press), is freely available in Open Access from the publisher’s webpage. If you want to buy a paperback or hardback copy, please use the code UCL24MC58L to enjoy a full 20% discount on both versions.
Access the book here: The Hipster Economy – UCL Press
For all the book-related media or academic request, please contact me by email at alessandro[at]unimi.it or on Twitter (see on the left).
Praises for the Hipster Economy
‘The term “hipster” usually evokes frivolity, while the concept of “authenticity” has been studied so extensively it’s getting hard to find a novel use for it. In this lovely new book, Gerosa has given hipsterism the serious analysis it deserves. Through clear, unforced writing, he convincingly reveals the importance of a distinct form of hipster aesthetics, one based on authentic experience, for today’s consumption-based economy. Gerosa has successfully enlivened the conversations around authenticity and started new ones around late capitalism’s regimes of accumulation. This book is a fine achievement.’ Richard E. Ocejo, CUNY Graduate Center and John Jay College‘
The Hipster Economy is a very welcome addition to sociological discussions of authenticity and consumer culture. Ethnographic vignettes of “crafty capitalism” and passionate “taste dealers” enliven a theoretically rich argument that hipsterism should be treated not as a subculture, but as an aesthetic regime typifying contemporary life. Using the “hipster” as a lens, Gerosa provides a masterful tour of post-Fordist changes to modes of capitalism, patterns of urban development, and the material practices and subjective experiences of work, while charting the long-term development and contemporary expression of authenticity as a master narrative in consumer culture.’ Jennifer Smith Maguire, Sheffield Hallam University
Featured in:
Articles and long forms
- Déjà brew, The Sociological Review Magazine, by Alessandro Gerosa and Alessandro Gandini
- L’economia dell’autenticità, Il Tascabile, by Irene Doda [IT]
- La moda dell’artigianato come hobby, Il Post, by Viola Stefanello [IT].
- l’économie hipster ou la quête désespérée de l’authenticité, L’ADN, by Laure Coromines [FR]
Podcasts:
- New Books Network with Jeff Adler, listen to it!
- The Culture Journalist, with Emilie Friedlander and Andrea Domanik, listen to it!
- Intervistautori con Camilla Volpe, ascolta qui! [IT]
- Intervista per Lo Scaffale di Primo, Radio Onda d’Urto, ascolta qui! [IT]
Presentations and events
- 21/03/24: Book launch at the Birmingham Business School. Registration form
- 20/03/24: Book presentation at the University of Sussex, Department of Strategy and Marketing.
- 06/03/24: Book presentation at the Centre for Research into the Organization of Work and Consumption, Anglia Ruskin University. Register for online participation here.
- 08/02/24: Book presentation at the Centre for Research in Economic Sociology and Innovation, University of Essex.
Who I am // Chi sono
EN
I am a researcher in cultural sociology.
Currently, I am a Assistant Professor in Cultural Sociology (Rtd-B) at the University of Milan. I completed a PhD in sociology at the University of Milan, after a master degree in International Relations.
IT
Monzese, ricercatore in sociologia culturale.
Attualmente sono Ricercatore in sociologia culturale (Rtd-B) presso l’Università degli Studi di Milano. Ho svolto un dottorato in sociologia presso l’Università Statale di Milano, dopo essermi laureato in Relazioni Internazionali.
My research // Le mie ricerche
EN
I draw from an interdisciplinary approach to sociology to analyse the contemporary society and capitalistic transformations through consumer cultures. My recent research focuses on (1) the role of authenticity in contemporary taste and the rise of neo-craft industries, (2) digital cultures and digital methods, (3) urban transformations.
Click here to read more
IT
Adotto un approccio interdisciplinare alla sociologia per analizzare la società contemporanea e le trasformazioni capitalistiche attraverso i fenomeni di consumo. La mia ricerca si concentra su (1) il ruolo dell’autenticità nel gusto contemporaneo e l’ascesa delle industrie neo-artigianali, (2) le culture e i metodi digitali, (3) i processi di trasformazione urbana.
Clicca qui per saperne di più
Below you can find a selected list of my publications, divided by topic. You can also keep updated on my publications through Google Scholar and Researchgate.
Click here to access the complete list instead
N.B.= If you can’t access some of my publications, drop me an email!
Taste and authenticity
Gerosa, A. (2024). The Hipster Economy: Taste and Authenticity in Late Modern Capitalism. UCL Press. Link to published version (OA)
Gandini, A. and Gerosa, A. (2023). What is ‘neo-craft’ work, and why it matters. Organization Studies, 0(0), pp. 1-34. Link to published version (OA)
Gerosa, A. (2022). The Resurgence of Craft Retailing. in The Artisan Brand, edited by Mulholland, J., Ricci, A., & Massi, M., pp. 193-208. Link to published version (email for a copy)
Gerosa, A. (2021). Cosmopolitans of regionalism: dealers of omnivorous taste under Italian food truck economic imaginary. Consumption Markets & Culture, 24(1), 30-53. Download the pre-print
Digital cultures and methods
Gandini, A., Gerosa, A., Giuffrè, L. et Keeling, S. (2023). Subjectivity and algorithmic imaginaries: the algorithmic other. Subjectivity, 0(0), pp. 1-18. Link to the published version (OA)
Gerosa, A., & Manzini Ceinar, I. (2022). New working spaces and COVID-19. in The COVID-19 Pandemic and the Future of Working Spaces, edited by Mariotti, I, Di Marino, M, & Bednář, P., pp. 131-144. Access the chapter (OA)
Gerosa, A., & Giorgi, G. (2021). The Memetic Cult of Personality of Politicians During the Pandemic. Comunicazione politica, 22(3), 357-384. Link to the published version
urban transformations
Gerosa, A. (2022). The hidden roots of the creative economy: a critical history of the concept along the twentieth century. International Journal of Cultural Policy, 28 (2), 131-144. Download the pre-print
Gerosa, A., Manzo, C., Pais, I. (2022). Milano Collabora: la trasformazione dei coworking di Milano nell’emergenza pandemica (per il Comune di Milano).
Gerosa, A., & Tartari, M. (2021). The Bottom-up Place Branding of a Neighborhood: Analyzing a Case of Selective Empowerment. Space and Culture, 12063312211032355. Link to the published version
Reports and working papers
Gandini, A., Gerosa, A., Gobbo, B., et al. (2022). The algorithmic public opinion: a literature review. SocArxiv.
Gerosa, A., Manzo, C., Pais, I. (2022). Milano Collabora: la trasformazione dei coworking di Milano nell’emergenza pandemica (per il Comune di Milano).
My writings // I miei scritti
CONTRIBUTI IN ITALIANO
Ho scritto su diversi temi per alcune riviste e magazine online, elencate qui:
- Che Fare
- Intersezionale
- Treccani (1, 2 e 3)
- Vorrei.org
WRITINGS IN ENGLISH
I wrote my thoughts on a number of topics for magazines and blogs. You can read them here:
- How memetic cults are changing politics and beyond, on the Birmingham Business School Blog
- Unpacking ‘Authenticity’ In Contemporary Food Cultures, on the Food Matters Conference outreach
- The Importance of Being Taste Dealers in the Contemporary Food Economy, on The Sociological Review Blog
- Thesis Spotlights – The Hipster Economy: An Ethnography of Creative Food and Beverage Microentrepreneurs in the Italian Context, on The European Sociologist
- One profession, multiple subjectivities: analysing professional subjectivities through the lens of economic imaginaries, on ISA RC52 Blog