Baylor Free Enterprise Program Welcomes Author Virginia Postrel

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Media contact: Eric M. Eckert, (254) 710-1964
WACO, Texas (Oct. 3, 2014) – Free Enterprise at the Baugh Center, a division of Baylor’s Hankamer School of Business, will welcome author Virginia Postrel at 4 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 7, on the fifth floor of Cashion Academic Center.
Postrel will present the lecture “Why Do People Buy Things They Don't Need? Imagination, Meaning, and Economic Value.” She will discuss the ways in which culture and emotion influence economic value and how most of the goods and services offered commercially are not necessary for survival.
“Virginia is a well-known cultural critic who addresses interesting questions at the intersection of business, innovation and culture,” said Steven Bradley, Ph.D., assistant professor of management and entrepreneurship in Baylor’s Hankamer School of Business. “She will explore the meaning and value we place on these material things to explain why people make the buying decisions they do.”
Postrel’s research spans a broad range of topics, from social science to fashion, and she has published books titled “The Power of Glamour: Longing and the Art of Visual Persuasion” and “The Substance of Style.” She has contributed columns to publications such as Bloomberg View, The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, The New York Times and Forbes.
Bradley said the lecture will be of interest to students of all majors, especially those studying fashion, design, marketing, business, sociology or economics.
“Understanding what motivates human behavior is central to knowing ourselves and those around us,” he said. “The discussion of assigning value and meaning can apply to anything we assign our time or money.”
The lecture is free and open to the public. Cashion Academic Center is located inside Hankamer School of Business, 1401 S. 4th Street. For more information, visit their website.
by Kristen Bennett, student newswriter, (254) 710-6805
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