Doctoral Seminars
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“European Doctoral School of Consumer Culture Theorizing”
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A formal collaboration between University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Middle Eastern Technical University, Ankara, Turkey, Université de Lille & Royal Holloway, University of London, UK, the “Doctoral School” series of seminars focuses on various aspects of studying consumer behavior from a sociocultural perspective. The seminars constituting 24 ECTS credits in total, are run in a cycle of two years, so that a doctoral student can include them all within the frame of a normal period of doctoral studies.
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The format of all seminars is quite similar; all are weeklong intensive seminars. The seminars are complementary but can also be taken individually. They feature a high degree of faculty-student interaction, and focus both on the general doctoral educational processes (creation of a body of knowledge) as well as integration of the students’ individual projects in the learning experience (application to a particular project).
The Doctoral School includes the following seminars:
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Consumption Theory: A Canon of Classics (run in Odense, Denmark) odd years.
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The purpose of this seminar is to critically investigate some of the key classics that constitute the foundation for many current perspectives in consumer research. Doctoral students thereby learn top better navigate the various foundational theoretical and philosophical underpinnings of the research traditions, they encounter. The seminar aims to cover at least the standard references to social theorists encountered in consumer research but we add in various other canonical social theorists. Authors covered during the seminar varies from time to time but has so far included among others: Roland Barthes, Jean Baudrillard, Pierre Bourdieu, Judith Butler, Mary Douglas, Michel Foucault, Erving Goffman, Jürgen Habermas, Claude Lévi-Strauss, Karl Marx, Marcel Mauss, Victor Turner and Max Weber.
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The seminar also aims to enable the participants to conceptualize their work in relationship to the literature. A recurrent theme is the discussion of how to make use of the inspiration that can be provided by classical social theory without buying into a dogmatic logic of theoretical hegemony. The aim is to generate versatility, openness and the ability to critically consider general social theories and their relevance for consumer culture theorizing.
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Read more: Canon of Classics 2025​
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Doctoral Seminar on Consumption Markets and Culture Theorization (run by Middle East Technical University, Turkey, even years)
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This five-day intensive seminar focuses on mid-range and contextually grounded theorization of consumption, markets, and marketing. It introduces participants to contemporary historical, socio-cultural, and political-economic approaches to conceptualizing and theorizing market and consumption phenomena.
The seminar is designed primarily for doctoral students and early-career faculty members; however, anyone with an interest in these topics is welcome to participate.
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The seminar has been offered biennially since 2005—initially at Bilkent University and, since 2019, at Middle East Technical University (https://ba.metu.edu.tr/en/cmct-doctoral-seminar).
Read More: CMC Seminar 2026​
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Consumer Culture Theory: Workshop on Methodology (run at Université de Lille) odd years.
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This seminar focuses on qualitative methods and research design for studies adopting a cultural approach of consumption. The overarching objective of the seminar is to familiarize researchers with qualitative methods to be adopted when conducting consumer research projects.
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European Consumer Culture Theorizing doctoral Consortium:
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Bilkent University, Marketing, Turkey: http://fba.bilkent.edu.tr/programs/ms-and-phd/msphd-areas-of-study/msphd-marketing/
Université de Lille, France: https://www.univ-lille.fr/home/research/doctoral-schools/
Royal Holloway, University of London, UK: https://www.royalholloway.ac.uk/management/home.aspx
University of Southern Denmark, Marketing, Denmark
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