ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book demonstrates that everyday practices are a meaningful, and useful, site for understanding socio-political developments in the process of identity formation both at the top and bottom level of a society. It explores how official and unofficial discourses of national, ethnic or civic categorizations traverse lifestyles, consumer practices, leisure time activities, and individuals' engagements with cultural products. The book is concerned with the construction and reproduction of identities through cultural products, events and leisure activities. It looks at the way themes related to the nation and sense of belonging penetrate popular culture like making and consuming music, festivals and cultural events. The book examines modes and patterns of consumption in the redefinition of identity in post-socialist settings. It also explores the role of national food consumption in a space that can be symbolically located between post-socialist spaces and the West.
