A phenomenological study of home baking: The ‘Rebirth of Romanticism' and the rise of the craft consumer

This paper investigates home baking as an instance of ‘craft consumption' (Campbell, 2005) against the backdrop of rising participation in the phenomenon of home baking and the increasing importance of emotion in consumption defined as the ‘Rebirth of Romanticism' movement (Gray, 2011). Phenomenological interviews conducted with a sample of 14 home bakers indicate that pleasure, authenticity and simplicity all play an important role in bakers' experiences, lending support to Gray's argument that a ‘Rebirth of Romanticism' can be discerned within this context of contemporary consumption. Moreover, our findings reveal that pleasure is linked in part to the opportunity to engage in ‘manual labour', an activity missing in the professional working lives of our consumer sample. These preliminary findings add depth to Campbell's (2005) theoretical conceptualisation of the craft consumer. Further research focusing on different contexts such as DIY and gardening are needed in order to assess the robustness of the concept of the craft consumer and the status of the Rebirth of Romanticism

Weird tales:The shifting role of science and religion in literature’s search for truth

In this chapter, two recent readings of two key literary texts in the ‘Science and Religion in Literature’ field, Shelley’s Frankenstein and Stevenson’s Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, are considered as contributions to literature’s search for truth: Greenaway’s Theology, Horror and Fiction and Alder’s Weird Fiction and Science at the Fin de Siècle. A reading of Robertson’s modern novel, The Fanatic, is then offered which draws on insights from both. It is argued that the ‘weird’ might offer a perspective which reflects and deflects scientific and theological concerns about literature’s ability to access truth. The literary presentation of the historical figure of Major Thomas Weir is the focus for a discussion of this approach