Migrant’s houses as places and objects of cultural consumption and status display
Migrant’s houses as places and objects of cultural consumption and status display

Summary/Abstract: The paper explores the interplay between migration and cultural consumption with regard to the rural dwelling. The study is based on data collected in a fieldwork carried out in the village of Marginea, Romania, a rural community characterized by strong international migration. The research used direct observation method and informal and semi-structured (qualitative) interviews. The penetration of the consumer culture in rural Romania is particularly evident in the case of migrants’ houses built in the village of origin. Indeed, the furnishing and decoration of migrants’ new homes is more symbolic than functional, the home becoming an important site of cultural consumption, expressing the ascension, through migration, to a certain social status – that of a respectable person and a good householder.

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