DIT PhD/Doctoral Project
Supervisor name & contact details:
Name: Dr Kevina Cody
Tel: 01 402 3033
Email: kevina.cody@dit.ie
Research Centre Name and Website (if
applicable)
School of Marketing
Funding Agency
College of Business, DIT
Scholarship Details
The stipend is €10,000 per annum. The cost of
EU academic fee will be covered for the
duration of the scholarship. Non-EU applicants
are eligible to take up the scholarships, but
they may be required to fund the fee
differential. Schools will make available a desk
space, PC along with a modest bursary for
travel, conferences and some limited materials.
Subject Area
Consumer Behaviour
Title of the Project
New domesticity: Constructing and consuming
female identity in a postfeminist consumer
culture
Project Description
This project proposes an interpretive investigation of the rise of ‘New Domesticity’ within both
marketplace and lifestyle discourses. Defined by Matcher (2014) as a re-embracing of domesticity
by those who have the means and the ability to reject it if they want to, this project aims to
understand the consumption practices and identity projects of those women for whom
traditionally regressive feminine consumption spaces and activities are now at the heart of their
identity project. ‘Domestic porn’ blogs and ‘Pintrest’ exemplify conspicuous consumption
practices inherent in the creation and display of female identity aligned with the wave of New
Domesticity.
Positioned firmly within the theoretical framework of Consumer Culture Theory (CCT), this
project will use qualitative methodologies such as ethnography, netnography, focus groups &
interviews. These methodologies will focus on understanding the relationship between female
identity projects and consumption practices related to ‘New Domesticity’, to examine the role of
the blogosphere and social media consumption practices in the lifestyles of the new domestics. In
addition, this project focuses on the intersection between class and the consumption practices in
the new domestic identity project as well as a theorisation of the cultural factors that have
impacted on a move towards ‘traditional’ female identities and consumption practices.
The research output of this PhD would contribute to the disciplines of Consumer Culture Theory
(CCT), sociological, anthropological, psychological & feminist discourses interconnected with
consumption practices, as well as interpretive research methodologies and their progression
within the field of CCT research.
Fundamentally this project proposes a thorough understanding, exploration and theorisation of a
significant sociocultural trend both in terms of the overarching influence of the symbolic
resources of the 21st century marketplace as well as contemporary reconfigurations of gender
and class as they relate to the penultimate project of self-creation.
Please indicate the student requirements for this project
Minimum 2.1 undergraduate degree in relevant area.
Applicants must also demonstrate:
An awareness of and competence within, discussions & current theorisations in CCT literature &
research
An engagement with the sociocultural trends focusing on ‘new domesticity’ and the changing
configurations of feminism in the 21st century
A display of interest and ability in relation to the interpretive research paradigm and the ensuing
methodologies
A commitment to furthering the research agenda of the College of Business and the nexus of
knowledge progressing CCT research within this agenda
Deadline to submit applications (only for
funded projects)
October 23, 2015
Please choose College as appropriate
Arts & Tourism
Business
Engineering and Built Environment
Sciences & Health
X
Project Title
Overview
Desired applicant
attributes
Supervisor
Email
Office Phone
Dr Kevina Cody, School of Marketing
Kevina.cody@dit.ie
(+353 (1) 402 3033