Alessandro Gerosa

Alessandro Gerosa

Alessandro Gerosa

Researcher

University of Birmingham
ORCID Profile

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 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:

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.
Articles and long forms
Podcasts:
  • New Books Network with Jeff Adler, listen to it!
  • Intervistautori con Camilla Volpe, ascolta qui! [IT]
  • Intervista per Lo Scaffale di Primo, Radio Onda d’Urto, ascolta qui! [IT]

Who I am // Chi sono

EN
I am a sociologist and consumer researcher.
Currently, I am a Lecturer in Marketing at the University of Birmingham (Birmingham Business School). Before, I completed a PhD in sociology at the University of Milan, after a master degree in International Relations. From 2012 to 2017 I’ve been City Councillor in Monza.

IT
Monzese, ricercatore in sociologia e marketing.
Attualmente sono Lecturer presso l’Università di Birmingham. Prima ho svolto un dottorato in sociologia presso l’Università Statale di Milano, dopo essermi laureato in Relazioni Internazionali. Dal 2012 al 2017 sono stato Consigliere Comunale a Monza.


My research // Le mie ricerche

EN
I draw from an interdisciplinary approach to sociology and marketing 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 – che attinge dalla sociologia e dal marketing – 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, Researchgate, and on the University of Birmingham official repository.

Click here to access the complete list instead

N.B.= If you can’t access some of my publications, drop me an email!


My writings // I miei scritti

CONTRIBUTI IN ITALIANO

Ho scritto su diversi temi per alcune riviste e magazine online, elencate qui:

WRITINGS IN ENGLISH

I wrote my thoughts on a number of topics for magazines and blogs. You can read them here:


Il mio impegno sociale

Sono da sempre impegnato a livello sociale, sopratutto a Monza, la mia città natale.

Puoi trovare alcuni miei interventi pubblici sul sito web di Radio Radicale. Sono spesso comparso sulle testate giornalistiche di Monza e della provincia: puoi trovare alcuni articoli (quelli in formato digitale) su MbNews, Il Cittadino, PrimaMonza e MonzaToday.