Reviewing key contemporary issues and debates about consumption, this book portrays and assesses the varied and complex intersections of consumption and everyday life.Throughout, the contributors show how cultural consumption involves a range of active, creative and critical practices. The rich and idiosyncratic nature of local consumption practices is illustrated through cases from different parts of the world. Through such cases the contributors show the varying balance between constraint and creativity, links between consumption and production, and the patterns which shape access to symbolic and material resources. Consumption takes place in the context of everyday lives, which take place in space: questions of place and identity, the privatization of the home, and the linking of local everyday practices with broader, global, processes are explored. Particular attention is given to the media and new communication technologies as points of overlap and exchange between the local, between domestic consumption and the public sphere.The book is written in an accessible style, and each chapter includes questions and activities for students, and selected readings. The book will be of interest to students and lecturers across a range of disciplines including sociology, anthropology, communication, cultural and media studies and geography.Consumption and Everyday Life is one of a series of books developed by The Open University which provides a comprehensive and innovative introduction to contemporary cultural studies. The series editor is Professor Stuart Hall.