Communication 794CC - S-Consumer Culture

The notion that contemporary times are characterized in part by a "consumer culture" permeates many vernacular as well as scholarly analyses. In this course we will examine what people mean by the term "consumer culture" and what particular kinds of social arrangements and ideologies this term attempts to capture for analysis or critique. We will aim for empirical and theoretical comparison across historical, cross-cultural, and disciplinary perspectives. Topics that will be considered include: consumerism and/as citizenship, media and promotional culture, globalization of consumerism, consumption and identity, ritual and consumption, and the commercialization of ostensibly non-market spheres. Students will undertake original research as one of the requirements for the course.

Open to Doctoral and Masters Communication students only. Doctoral and Masters students from other departments by permission of instructor, Professor Emily West (ewest@umass.edu).