Agenda
Successful PhD Defence Posthumus alumna Alessandra De Mulder
On 27 March 2026, Posthumus alumna Alessandra De Mulder (University of Antwerp) successfully defended the thesis ‘Embedding a consumer revolution: Shifting values in the language of London auction advertisements, c. 1730-1830’ at the FelixArchief in Antwerp. Supervisors were Professor Bruno Blondé and Professor Ilja Van Damme (both University of Antwerp.
Alessandra’s dissertation examines the emergence of modern consumer culture through the language of eighteenth-century London auction advertisements. By combining digital humanities methodologies with traditional historical analysis it uncovers what values actually mattered to Georgian consumers and shows that everyday linguistic practices of buying and selling played a crucial role in the consumer revolution. Alessandra’s research nuances our understanding of the so-called consumer revolution by demonstrating that consumer culture emerged not simply through grand economic or social transformations but through everyday practices of buying, selling, and describing material goods; practices that were fundamentally linguistic by design. The study demonstrates that auctioneers functioned as active ‘arbiters of taste’ rather than passive intermediaries. By bridging the gap between theoretical frameworks about consumer values and the actual linguistic evidence of marketplace practices, this study offers new perspectives on how Georgian Londoners navigated an increasingly complex material world, constructed meanings around household goods, and participated in the birth of modern consumer society through the language they used to describe, desire, and acquire objects.
The N.W. Posthumus Institute staff congratulates Alessandra with obtaining the Ph!
