USSO 263 - The Politics of Consumption

Institution:

Case Western Reserve University

Subject:

Description:

How do the things we like and the things we buy indicate who we are? What role has consumption played in the development of ideas about masculinity and femininity? Has the emergence of modern consumerism altered the way we interact with art and history? In this course, we will consider the political and ethical implications of consumerism. We will investigate the history of commodity culture, read about the early department stores in Paris and the first cases of kleptomania, and look at Victorian advertisements and popular magazines for collectors from the turn of the century. We will use the works of Karl Marx and Oscar Wilde to theorize the ethical implications of taste. The philosophical, economic, and literary texts we read will help us to understand why it is pleasurable and why it might be problematic to be manipulated by the marketplace. In addition, we will ask if there are methods for maneuvering within the possibilities of commodity culture in an ethical manner. Can we express our politics or preserve cultures and traditions with the right kinds of shopping? Can we be moral consumers? Prereq: Passing letter grade in a 100 level first year seminar in USFS, FSSO, FSCC, FSNA, FSSY or FSCS. Prereq or Coreq: FSTS 100.

Credits:

3.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Lecture

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.case.edu

Phone Number:

(216) 368-2000

Regional Accreditation:

North Central Association of Colleges and Schools

Calendar System:

Semester

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