Submission Title
Session Title
Session 2-4-C: Gaming and Gambling Policies
Presentation Type
Event
Location
Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada
Start Date
29-5-2019 3:30 PM
End Date
29-5-2019 4:55 PM
Disciplines
European History | Social History
Abstract
The presentation deals with comparative research on two morally-laden consumption phenomena (gambling and tobacco smoking) that have been differently morally (re)-framed in the course of the 20th century and in the 2000s. Whereas the prevalence of tobacco smoking in Western countries has dropped dramatically over the last few decades and tobacco smoking has become a deprecated consumption habit closely linked to lower-educated classes gambling has been tamed, legalized and made acceptable to all the classes and both men and women and gained in popularity. The roles of these two phenomena have changed: gambling has become almost ubiquitous whereas smoking is an object of strict societal reprehension. However, in addition to change, stability of attitudes, discourses, and practices affect historical moral(ities).
The main questions of the presentation are: What have been the cultural, social, and historical places of gambling and tobacco smoking in Finland, Germany and Sweden in the 20th and in the 21st centuries? What kind of a role do class, gender, age, residence or ethnicity play in these processes? The source material consists of a variety of materials ranging from statistics to popular culture products.
The presentation gives a new historical understanding of moral discourses and practices focusing on gambling and tobacco smoking. The idea is to disentangle the historical processes of stabilization, naturalization and re-framing of gambling and tobacco smoking. It also highlights the importance of comparative research in gambling studies.
Keywords
history of gambling, comparative approach, smoking, Finland, Sweden, Germany
Funding Sources
The research funding comes from the University of Helsinki's Centre for Consumer Society Research where I work as a post-doctoral researcher. The funding body is aware of my research but has not had any involvement in any aspects of the research.
Competing Interests
I have no competing interests to announce.
Included in
The change and stability of moral discourses and practices of gambling and tobacco smoking in Finland, Sweden, and Germany
Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada
The presentation deals with comparative research on two morally-laden consumption phenomena (gambling and tobacco smoking) that have been differently morally (re)-framed in the course of the 20th century and in the 2000s. Whereas the prevalence of tobacco smoking in Western countries has dropped dramatically over the last few decades and tobacco smoking has become a deprecated consumption habit closely linked to lower-educated classes gambling has been tamed, legalized and made acceptable to all the classes and both men and women and gained in popularity. The roles of these two phenomena have changed: gambling has become almost ubiquitous whereas smoking is an object of strict societal reprehension. However, in addition to change, stability of attitudes, discourses, and practices affect historical moral(ities).
The main questions of the presentation are: What have been the cultural, social, and historical places of gambling and tobacco smoking in Finland, Germany and Sweden in the 20th and in the 21st centuries? What kind of a role do class, gender, age, residence or ethnicity play in these processes? The source material consists of a variety of materials ranging from statistics to popular culture products.
The presentation gives a new historical understanding of moral discourses and practices focusing on gambling and tobacco smoking. The idea is to disentangle the historical processes of stabilization, naturalization and re-framing of gambling and tobacco smoking. It also highlights the importance of comparative research in gambling studies.