Status and Culture by W David Marx

Status and Culture by W David Marx

"Subtly altered how I see the world." --Michelle Goldberg, New York Times

"[Status and Culture] consistently posits theories I'd never previously considered that instantly feel obvious." --Chuck Klosterman, author of The Nineties

"Why are you the way that you are? Status and Culture explains nearly everything about the things you choose to be--and how the society we live in takes shape in the process." --B.J. Novak, writer and actor

Solving the long-standing mysteries of culture--from the origin of our tastes and identities, to the perpetual cycles of fashions and fads--through a careful exploration of the fundamental human desire for status

All humans share a need to secure their social standing, and this universal motivation structures our behavior, forms our tastes, determines how we live, and ultimately shapes who we are. We can use status, then, to explain why some things become "cool," how stylistic innovations arise, and why there are constant changes in clothing, music, food, sports, slang, travel, hairstyles, and even dog breeds.

In Status and Culture, W. David Marx weaves together the wisdom from history, psychology, sociology, anthropology, economics, philosophy, linguistics, semiotics, cultural theory, literary theory, art history, media studies, and neuroscience to demonstrate exactly how individual status seeking creates our cultural ecosystem. Marx examines three fundamental questions: Why do individuals cluster around arbitrary behaviors and take deep meaning from them? How do distinct styles, conventions, and sensibilities emerge? Why do we change behaviors over time and why do some behaviors stick around? The answers then provide new perspectives for understanding the seeming "weightlessness" of internet culture.      

Status and Culture is a book that will appeal to business people, students, creators, and anyone who has ever wondered why things become popular, why their own preferences change over time, and how identity plays out in contemporary society. Readers of this book will walk away with deep and lasting knowledge of the often secret rules of how culture really works.

W. David Marx is a writer on Japanese fashion, music, and culture. A former editor of the Tokyo New York street culture magazine Tokion, his articles have appeared in GQ, Harper's, The Fader, and Nylon. He holds a bachelor's degree from Harvard in East Asian Studies and a master's degree in business and commerce from Keio University. He lives in Tokyo.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780593296707
ISBN 10	0593296702
Title	Status and Culture
Author	W David Marx
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Penguin Putnam Inc
Year published	2022-09-06
Number of pages	368
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.