Celia Lury BA MA DPhil
For a long time I have had two main areas of research interest: sociology of culture and feminist theory.
My contributions to a sociology of culture draw upon the findings of a series of funded empirical research projects, exploring contemporary developments in the culture industry with a special focus on changing cultural forms. Following the publication of the jointly authored book on The Global Culture Industry: The Mediation of Things (with Lash, Polity, 2007), I am developing my research interest in the question of cultural change through my participation in a 20-partner EU-funded interdisciplinary network on ‘A Topological Approach to Cultural Dynamics’. This network – which draws on recent developments in philosophy and mathematical thinking to address questions of cultural and social change, space and intensity – is part of what has been called a topological turn in cultural theory. My ideas on what this might mean are developed in recent and forthcoming publications including the Introduction to a Special Issue of the European Journal of Social Theory on ‘What is the empirical?’, co-edited with Lisa Adkins and an article on ‘Brands as assemblage: assembling culture’ to appear in the journal Cultural Economy (forthcoming). It will also inform the book (co-edited with Nina Wakeford) on Inventive Methods, (Routledge).
I continue to be interested in brands and branding (Brands: the logos of the global cultural economy, 2004 as I have found them illuminating objects to think with as well as problematic objects to live with/out. I am enthusiastic about the new MA in Brands, Communication and Culture that is just starting at Goldsmiths (organised by Dr Liz Moor in Media and Communications, but with the involvement of myself and others in Sociology).
My contributions to feminist theory primarily concern the issue of gender as a kind of becoming (Prosthetic Culture, Feminism and Autobiography) and the changing significance of gender as a social and natural category (Global Nature, Global Culture). I have participate in the annual conferences and workshops linked to the MA Gender, Culture and Media.
Selected publications
Jefferies, Janis K.. 2012. Pattern, Patterning, Probe. In: Celia Lury and Nina Wakeford, eds. The happening of the social: devices, sites and methods. London, UK: Routledge, pp. 125-135. ISBN 978-0415574815 [Book Section]
Moor, Liz and Lury, Celia. 2011. Making and Measuring Value: Comparison, singularity and agency in brand valuation practice. Journal of Cultural Economy 1753-0369, 4(4), xxx-xxx. ISSN 1753-0350 [Article]
Lury, Celia and Moor, Liz. 2010. Brand Valuation and Topological Culture. In: Melissa Aronczyk and Devon Powers, eds. Blowing up the Brand. New York: Peter Lang, pp. 29-52. ISBN 978-1-4331-0867-9 [Book Section]
Lury, Celia. 2009. Brands as assemblages: assembling culture. Journal of Cultural Economy, 2(1-2), pp. 67-82. ISSN 1753-0350 [Article]
Adkins, Lisa and Lury, Celia. 2009. What Is the Empirical? European Journal of Social Theory, 12(1), pp. 5-20. ISSN 1368-4310 [Article]
Lury, Celia. 2008. Cultural Technologies. In: Tony Bennett and John Frow, eds. Handbook of Cultural Analysis. Sage , 570-586 . ISBN 9780761942290 [Book Section]
Lury, Celia. 2008. Trade mark style as a way of fixing things. In: Lionel Bently, Jennifer Davis and Jane C Ginsburg, eds. Trade Marks and Brands: An Interdisciplinary Critique. Cambridge University Press , 201-222 . ISBN 9780521889650 [Book Section]
Lury, Celia. 2007. The Doing and the Living of the Business of Barcelona: Brandspace, Brandvalue and Brandpower. In: UNSPECIFIED, ed. Producta50. Yproductions , 112-123 . ISBN [Book Section]
Lash, Scott and Lury, Celia. 2007. Global Culture Industry: The Mediation of Things. Polity Press. ISBN 9780745624822 [Book]
Lury, Celia. 2007. Just Do It: The Brand as New Media Object. In: Virginia Nightingale and Tim Dwyer, eds. New Media Worlds: Challenges for Convergence. Oxford University Press , 308-324 . ISBN 978-0-19-555836-4 [Book Section]
Fraser, Mariam, Kember, Sarah and Lury, Celia, eds. 2006. Inventive Life: Approaches to the New Vitalism. London: Sage. ISBN 9781412920360 [Edited Book]
Adkins, Lisa. 2006. The New Economy, Property and Personhood. In: Mariam Fraser, Sarah Kember and Celia Lury, eds. Inventive Life: Approaches to the New Vitalism. Sage. ISBN 978-1412920360 [Book Section]
Lury, Celia. 2005. 'Contemplating a Self-portrait as a Pharmacist': A Trade Mark Style of Doing Art and Science. Theory Culture & Society, 22, pp. 93-110. ISSN 02632764 [Article]
Lury, Celia. 2004. Brands: the logos of the global economy. Routledge. ISBN 9780415251839 [Book]
Lury, Celia. 2003. The game of Loyalt(o)y: diversions and divisions in network society. The Sociological Review, 51, pp. 301-320. ISSN 00380261 [Article]