SCA-UA 625 - Landscapes of Consumption

Institution:

New York University

Subject:

Description:

Consumption of objects, images, and places is central to the culture and economy of metropolitan life. The class explores how the relationship between consumption and cities has developed by examining three key moments: the late 19th century and the invention of urban commodity spectacles, post-war America and the rise of suburban consumer spaces, and contemporary America and the selling of the commodity city. The class addresses three questions: Why do we want things? How does landscape organize our consumer desires? How does place become an object of consumption? We begin with an examination of classic theoretical works that probe the relationships between people, things, and cities. We then embed these in discussions of changing forms and practices of consumption and urbanism. The empirical cases we examine range from the development of the department store, to the fashioning of the commodity city, to the work of shopping, and to the emergence of a thriving urban debt industry.

Credits:

4.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Lecture

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.nyu.edu

Phone Number:

(212) 998-1212

Regional Accreditation:

Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools

Calendar System:

Semester

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