ABSTRACT
Branding, like the market, is a term that has an incredibly high currency, is firmly rooted in both specialist and everyday discourse, and activates a variety of associations and value judgments, ranging from full-blown endorsement to skepticism, or even disgust. 'Branded information' circulates differently, and is more visible and politically effective, than 'unbranded information', the result being that "'branded' violations of e.g. human rights are of course more easily prosecuted and communicated by activists". The consumer cultures and branding paradigms are far from static or stable, as performativity induces shifts and rifts and innovation instils changes in both social and scientific settings. The practice of associating a particular consumer product with certain name or make emerged in the late nineteenth century to cater to a literate industrial proletariat, in particular in the US. In educational contexts, branding and consumption are frequently posited as essential evils.
