Yuson Jung is Associate Professor of Anthropology at Wayne State University. She is editor with Jakob Klein and Melissa Caldwell of Ethical Eating in the Postsocialist and Socialist World. Her book Balkan Blues explores how a state transitions from the collectivized production and distribution of socialism to the consumer-focused culture of capitalism. Jung considers the state as an economic agent in upholding rights and responsibilities in the shift to a global market. Taking Bulgaria as her focus, Jung shows how impoverished Bulgarians developed a consumer-oriented society and how the concept of "need" adapted in surprising ways to accommodate this new culture.
Sponsored by the Havighurst Center for Russian and Post-Soviet Studies
