Most people in modern Western society are obsessed with hair: hair they have, hair they don't, hair they don't want (there), the latest to-do about the do of the latest star or starlet--and yet there have been virtually no in-depth studies of hair in this culture. McCracken, a curator of ethnology, has written an insightful study of how Westerners redefine themselves by defining and redefining their 'dos, dont's, and dyes, and the fetishistic fascination with hair styles of the rich and famous.  Although written primarily about women's hair, and in particular, blond hair, my entire household--men and women alike--learned a great deal from the in-depth analyses of these dead strands of protein extruding from tiny pores on our heads which nonetheless have extraordinary power in determining status and even wealth. Recommended.

Big Hair

Politics & Social Sciences

McCRACKEN, Grant

Social Sciences

Penguin Canada (APB)

This book compiles and integrates highly innovative work aimed at bridging the fields of anthropology and consumer behavior." ―Journal of Consumer Affairs... fascinating... ambitious and interesting... " ―Canadian Advertising Foundation Newsletter... an anthropological dig into consumerism brimming with original thought... " ―The Globe and MailGrant McCracken has written a provocative book that puts consumerism in its place in Western society―at the centre." ―Report on Business Magazine... a stimulating addition to knowledge and theory about the interrelationship of culture and consumption." ―Choice[McCracken's] synthesis of anthropological and consumer studies material will give historians new ideas and methods to integrate into their thinking." ―Maryland HistorianThe book offers a fresh and much needed cultural interpretation of consumption." ―Journal of Consumer PolicyThe volume will help balance the prevailing cognitive and social psychological cast of consumer research and should stimulate more comprehensive investigation into consumer behavior." ―Journal of Marketing Research... broad scope, enthusiasm and imagination... a significant contribution to the literature on consumption history, consumer behavior, and American material culture." ―Winterhur PortfolioFor this is a superb book, a definitive exploration of its subject that makes use of the full range of available literature." ―American Journal of SociologyMcCracken's book is a fine synthesis of a new current of thought that strives to create an interdisciplinary social science of consumption behaviors, a current to which folklorists have much to contribute." ―Journal of American FolkloreThis provocative book takes a refreshing new view of the culture of consumption. McCracken examines the interplay of culture and consumer behavior from the anthropologist's point of view and provides new insights into the way we view ourselves

Culture and Consumption: New Approaches to the Symbolic Character of Consumer Goods and Activities

Business & Money

Economics

Indiana University Press

Chief Culture Officer: How to Create a Living, Breathing Corporation

Levi-Strauss, the jeans and apparel maker, missed out on the hip-hop trend. They didn’t realize that those kids in baggy jeans represented a whole newand lucrativemarket opportunity, one they could have seen coming if they had but been paying attention to the shape of American culture. Levi Strauss isn’t alone. Too many corporations outsource their understanding of culture to trend hunters, cool watchers, marketing experts, consulting firms, and, sometimes, teenage interns. The cost to Levi-Strauss was a billion dollars. The cost to the rest of corporate America is immeasurable. The lesson? The American corporation needs a new professional. It needs a Chief Culture Officer. Grant McCracken, an anthropologist who now trains some of the world’s biggest companies and consulting firms, argues that the CCO would keep a finger on the pulse of contemporary cultural trendsfrom sneakers to slow food to preppieswhile develop

Management & Leadership

Basic Books

Trenchantly on point and bursting with insight, anthropologist Grant McCracken shows American corporations how keeping a finger on the pulse of contemporary cultural trends can change their business practices for the better -- and ahead of the curve. Levi-Strauss, the jeans and apparel maker, missed out on the hip-hop trend. They didn't realize that those kids in baggy jeans represented a whole new -- and lucrative -- market opportunity, one they could have seen coming if they had but been paying attention to the shape of American culture. Levi Strauss isn't alone. Too many corporations outsource their understanding of culture to trend hunters, cool watchers, marketing experts, consulting firms, and, sometimes, teenage interns. The cost to Levi-Strauss was a billion dollars. The cost to the rest of corporate America is immeasurable. The lesson? The American corporation needs a new professional. It needs a Chief Culture Officer. Grant McCracken, an anthropologist who now trains some of the world's biggest companies and consulting firms, argues that the CCO would keep a finger on the pulse of contemporary cultural trends-from sneakers to slow food to preppies-while developing a systematic understanding of the deep waves of culture in America and the world. The CCO's professionalism would allow the corporation to see coming changes, even when they only exist as the weakest of signals. Delightfully authoritative, trenchantly on point, bursting with insight and character, Chief Culture Officer is sure to expand your horizons-and your business.

Arts & Photography

Fashion

Phoenix

Big Hair: A Journey Into the Transformation of Self.

Health, Fitness & Dieting

Beauty, Grooming, & Style

Viking, Toronto, 1995

Most people in modern Western society are  obsessed with hair: hair they have, hair they don't, hair they don't want (there), the latest to-do  about the do of the latest star or starlet--and yet there have been virtually no in-depth studies of hair in this culture. McCracken, a curator of ethnology,  has written an insightful study of how Westerners redefine themselves by defining and redefining their 'dos, dont's, and dyes, and the fetishistic fascination with hair styles of the rich and famous.   Although written primarily about women's hair, and in particular, blond hair, my entire household--men and women alike--learned a great deal from the in-depth analyses of these dead strands of protein extruding from tiny pores on our heads which nonetheless have extraordinary power in determining status and even wealth.  Recommended.

Big Hair: A Journey Into The Transformation Of Self

Diane Pub Co.

The Long Interview provides a systematic guide to the theory and methods of the long qualitative interview or intensive interviewing. It gives a clear explanation of one of the most powerful tools of the qualitative researcher. The volume begins with a general overview of the character and purpose of qualitative inquiry and a review of key issues. The author outlines the four steps of the long qualitative interview and how to judge quality. He then offers practical advice for those who commission and administer this research, including sample questionnaires and budgets to help readers design their own. The author introduces key theoretical and methodological issues, various research strategies, and a simple four-stage model of inquiry, from the design of an open-ended questionnaire to the write up of results.

The Long Interview (Qualitative Research Methods)

Sage Publications, Inc.

The Long Interview provides a systematic guide to the theory and methods of the long qualitative interview or intensive interviewing. It gives a clear explanation of one of the most powerful tools of the qualitative researcher. The volume begins with a general overview of the character and purpose of qualitative inquiry and a review of key issues. The author outlines the four steps of the long qualitative interview and how to judge quality. He then offers practical advice for those who commission and administer this research, including sample questionnaires and budgets to help readers design their own. The author introduces key theoretical and methodological issues, various research strategies, and a simple four-stage model of inquiry, from the design of an open-ended questionnaire to the write up of results.

Job Hunting & Careers

1996, First American Edition, Paperback, 218 pages

Big Hair: A Journey into the Transformation of Self

Overlook Books

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by McCRACKEN, Grant. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by McCRACKEN, Grant

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by McCRACKEN, Grant. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Big Hair

Culture and Consumption: New Approaches to the Symbolic Character of Consumer Goods and Activities

Chief Culture Officer: How to Create a Living, Breathing Corporation

Chief Culture Officer: How to Create a Living, Breathing Corporation

Big Hair

Big Hair: A Journey Into the Transformation of Self.

Big Hair: A Journey Into The Transformation Of Self

The Long Interview (Qualitative Research Methods)

The Long Interview (Qualitative Research Methods)

Big Hair: A Journey into the Transformation of Self