John Wilson                                                                                                       Fall 2000
Office: 263 Soc-Psych Bldg
Voicemail: 660-5622
E-mail: jwils@soc.duke.edu

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Sociology 141: Consuming Passions

"There are two tragedies in life. One is not to get your heart's desire. The other is to get it." [George Bernard Shaw]

AIn the factory we make cosmetics. In the store we sell hope.@ [Charles Revson]

The course considers some of the sociological and ethical consequences of living in a consumer society, where life revolves around what we buy, and where possessions contribute to, and even become, our identities. All but one of the readings is available on electronic reserves in Perkins Library:  www.lib.duke.edu/access/reserves . Searches are conducted using professor and course number. The Caplow reading must be accessed through JSTOR [http://www.jstor.org/jstor/]. There will be a midterm examination, which will count for 20% percent of your grade, and a final examination which will count for 50% percent of your grade. You will be required to write a research paper which will count for 30% of your grade. A list of possible paper topics is attached to this syllabus. You must get approval from me for a topic not on this list. The paper should be handed in by December 7^th.

Section A

The first three lectures use social psychological theory to understand the relation between possessions and the self.

Lecture 1. How our identities are formed and communicated through objects, which themselves take on a "social life". Objects - possessions - are vital to individuality. You are what you own.

Lecture 2.  Self-development occurs in stages. Each is marked by different consumption patterns. The reading is Kamptner=s APersonal Possessions and Their Meanings in Old Age@. As you read this chapter, ask yourself why the sense of self is eroded by loss of personal control over the environment. Is this experience, and the role of possessions in sheltering us from it, confined to the later stages of life?  How might the conclusions of a similar study, this time focusing on college students, differ? Look around your friends' rooms. How are they different from the rooms Kamptner describes, and why?

Lecture 3. Consumption is not simply buying - or even using up. Consumption is "object appropriation" - acquiring, working on, disposing. Each stage consists of many steps; each has to be learned. How we consume is as important as what we consume.

Section B

This section uses sociological theory to understand how the culture of consumption differentiates and excludes.

Lecture 4.  Possessions are "boundary markers" in social life. Objects that define the self both distinguish us from some and unite us with others. In a world where we are always unsure of who belongs where, objects can be "good to think with". The relevant reading is Lichtenberg’s “Consuming Because Others Consume”, in which she cleverly shows that all consumption is a social act.

Lecture 5. Many sociologists believe social class is the most important division in society. How is social class Amarked@ by differences in consumption, other than by the fact that the rich have more money to spend? There are two readings assigned for this topic. Devault’s “The Significance of Style” describes how the preparation and consumption of food is used to “mark” class boundaries. Use this chapter to learn why the cost of food is not necessarily the main determinant of why people buy it.

Lecture 6.  Many sociologists believe gender is the most important division in society. As you read Bordo=s AReading the Slender Body@,  examine closely how Bordo distinguishes between thinness and Atrimness@. How does she explain the modern preoccupation with tight, firm and smoothly contoured flesh? How is this a feminist interpretation of the cult of thinness?

Section C

This section considers the question: what is a Aconsumer society@ and a Aconsumer culture@?

Lecture 7.  If humans must consume in order to survive, what makes modern societies Aconsumerist@? What social forces have brought about this condition?

Lecture 8.  How have our work, family and leisure lives been affected by the rise of consumer society? The relevant readings is Matthews= ADomesticity and the Culture of Consumption@ As you read this chapter, ask yourself how the advent of a Aconsumer culture@ changes the way we think about the household. What is the difference between a household and a home? How has the relation between the Adomestic sphere@ and the world of paid work changed? How have the various roles inside the household changed? How are these changes mirrored in the consumption of new goods (e.g. washing machines), or of the same goods in new ways (e.g. food)?

Lecture 9.  In a consumer society life revolves around commodities. When does an object become a commodity? What is the relation between use value and exchange value?  What is the consequence of our increasing reliance on commodities for satisfying needs?

Lecture 10. Nothing is naturally a commodity. What happens when goods and services become commodified? How does commodification alter our relations to each other? The relevant reading here is Wernick=s AThe Promotional University@. How does commodification affect the relation between student and teacher?

In this section we focus on an aspect of commodification crucial to modern marketing and the survival of modern capitalist economies - branding.

Lecture 11.  Even today, not all commodities are brands (e.g. green peas), but branding is the preferred market strategy (e.g. Bird=s Eye Frozen Green Peas).  Why is branding so important?. What are the alternatives marketing strategies? How does branding stimulate consumption?

Lecture 12. If branding is all about image, then business competition takes place over images. As you read Goldman and Papson=s ASign Wars@, try to Adecode@ the strategies used by modern marketers as they try to Aposition@ their brand.

Lecture 13. The “war of signs” is nicely illustrated in the recent history of professional sports, where basketball rose from the dead, commercially speaking, while ice hockey is still in danger of suffering the same fate as Sylvania television or Studebaker cars. As you watch the video documentary on this topic, ask yourself what Arepositioning strategy@ did the NBA adopt to turn itself around.  How much of this was a change of product, how much a change of image? What methods were used to Aprotect@ the new brand image? Which cluster of images did the NBA wish to associate itself with? Where is ice hockey positioned today? What is the brand image of ice hockey? What are the repositioning strategies available to the NHL?

Lecture 14. The current obsession with image makes us wonder whether there is anything Abehind@ the image. If everything can be a sign of something else, perhaps nothing is real. This uncertainty is intolerable. Hence the irony that brand culture sparks a pre-occupation with Athe real thing or authenticity@. Much of modern consuming can be explained by this hunger, as we search for experiences that ring true.

Lecture 15. In the search for authenticity, we are drawn back to our “roots” when times were simpler. Ironically, this desire is in turn commodified. The relevant reading here is Barthel=s AConsuming History@ . Use this reading to obtain a deeper understanding of the appeal of consumer experiences such as those provided by DisneyWorld, Williamsburg, Busch Gardens- and even Venice and Rome.

Section E

Fashion’s vital role in the dynamics of consumer society demands a special section.

Lecture 16.  What is fashion and how does it operate?  Do all societies have cycles of fashion? Does fashion trickle down from one social stratum to another? Is fashion just for women? As you watch the video-documentary on the fashion industry, think about the various economic interests that sustain this industry, and how they work together to heighten public interest and desire. Has haute couture gone out of style? Is the fashion system dying or has its form and function simply changed? Davis= AFlaunts and Feints@ is also about the cycle of fashion. As you read this chapter ask yourself how Davis solves the riddle that the upper class Ainsinuate by understatement@ rather than flaunting their wealth? Why is the Adialectic of status claims@ never ending? What does Aendless reflexivity@ mean, and why it is so crucial to Davis= analysis?  Why should the rich dress Aas plainly as their maids@? Can you spot other forms of Acalculated under-dressing@ around you? Can you think of other consumer goods that have undergone the same Ainversions@ as jeans and denim?

Section F

This section deals with the actual business of consumption - buying - but from a sociological perspective. How is buying socially organized?

Lecture 17.  Some sociologists believe that the buyer-seller relationship has changed from being private and personal to public and impersonal and, more lately, back to private again - but this time impersonal. Nevertheless, shopping is a gendered activity. For a reminder read Underhill’s anthropological observations on men in shops.

Lecture 18. Other sociologists believe that shopping continues to be an intensely social experience, which we can discover by studying carefully how people shop for everyday items and their attraction to shopping malls. The relevant readings here are selections from Brown’s “What’s Love Got to Do With It?” in which he shows how sexualized is the shopping behavior of young people.

Lecture 19.  A global consumer culture appears to be emerging, with global products, brands, companies and even customers. The relevant reading is Giroux=s AConsuming Social Change@, about Benetton=s attempt to establish itself as a global brand by playing on the theme of AUnited Colors@. As you read this chapter, ask yourself why Benetton uses the Aaesthetics of realism@ in its marketing campaign. What does Giroux mean when he writes that Benetton presents social differences as categorical rather than relational? Why does Giroux think this makes the campaign Adepoliticizing@. What image of global culture, and of capitalism=s role in forging that culture, does this campaign present?

Lecture 20. What happens to “native” cultures when they are appropriated for use by global consumers? As you read Root=s AConquest, Appropriation and Cultural Difference” ask yourself how it is possible for people who rely on income from tourism or sale of “crafts”, to keep intact their own cultures.

Section G

This section deals with limits to consumption. Is the expansion of markets limitless or do societies place constraints on commodification?

Lecture 21.  When is the marketplace not an acceptable way to organize consumption? How is government regulation of consumption justified? What about the organizations that try to help us consume more wisely and efficiently? Do they discourage or encourage consuming?

Lecture 22.  What is the relation between consumption and well-being? As you read Lane’s “The Road Not Taken” consider how materialism might subvert other values. If money cannot buy happiness why do we want more of it?

Lecture 23.  What is the function of gift-giving and how is it different from the buying and selling of commodities? What is the difference between a commodity and a gift? The relevant reading is Caplow=s ARule Enforcement without Visible Means@, about the rules of gift-giving at Christmas. As you read this article ask yourself what kind of social relations rely most heavily on the ritual of gift-giving. What are the social norms governing how gifts are chosen, presented and accepted? Can you think of other rules of gift-giving not mentioned in Caplow=s study? Has gift-giving begun to fade in significance in a society where people Ahave everything they need@? [Note: this reading must be accessed through JSTOR. The article is located in the American Journal of Sociology 1984 volume 89 pages 1306-1323].

Lecture 24. Consuming can be a form of political behavior.  McRobbie, in “Second Hand Dresses,” explains that not all people who buy used goods are doing so because they are too poor to afford new. Tinic, in “United Colors and United Meanings” takes us back to Benetton and argues that political messages inevitably lose their original meaning once they are made part of a marketing strategy.

                                                                       Schedule

Sociology 141: Consuming Passions

Paper Topics

1. Consumption, like production, is organized along lines of gender, ethnicity, age and, not least, social class. This statement means not only that people of different genders, races, ages and social classes consume different things in different ways, it means that consumption is one way we “read” and understand each other’s social identity. Explore this issue with respect to either ethnicity or social class. You can conceive of this topic broadly, investigating lots of different ways either ethnicity or class go together or, if you think you can locate enough materials, you can focus on one aspect of consumption and how either ethnicity or class is related to it (e.g. advertising, body appearance, apparel or fashion, food, sports).

2. Conventional wisdom tells us that consumption is “women’s work” – with certain exceptions. The world of fashion, for example, has been aimed almost exclusively at women. Almost 80% of shop purchases are made by women, who now comprise 50% of car buyers. Traditionally, men have been expected to leave the day-to-day purchasing decisions to women and not be interested in things like fashion and appearance. The 1980s, however, witnessed the emergence of “the new man” who was supposed to change these gender definitions. Who was this new man? What evidence is there that such a man exists? How would you explain his emergence?

3. How do we become consumers in the first place? How do we learn the “consumer role”? These questions have to do socialization. They direct our attention to the way in which children are socialized into consumer culture. What do studies show us about how children learn to be consumers? Who are their teachers? How does consumption figure into the way in which children learn adult roles, gender identities, and group loyalties? From a marketing point of view, must children be treated differently? What is the social scientific evidence for this? What are the ethical issues in marketing to children and how does this influence the market for children’s goods? How have children’s roles and statuses in society changed to alter their role in the marketplace?

4. New technologies often mean major changes in consumption. For example, the automobile is not only a consumption good in its own right, but has also wrought major changes in other social domains such as where and how we eat, where and with whom we live, where and when we shop. The internet is the latest example of this phenomenon. How has the internet altered consumption attitudes and practices?

5. Theme parks, such as those at Disneyworld, Knotts Berry Farm and Busch Gardens, are very popular “sites of consumption”. Their popularity has inspired, in turn, a “theme-ing of America” as stores, restaurants, shopping malls, neighborhoods, cities and even entire countries, are transformed into places of entertainment and amusement for the purposes of attracting customers. Describe this phenomenon and account for it.

6. Much attention is paid to the more glamorous side of consuming cultures, such as fashion displays, but for most people “consumption” means getting enough to survive. Poverty, not riches, is the issue for most of the world’s population. What does it mean to “poor”. Why, despite its riches, does the United States still have many people who cannot afford an adequate food diet and proper health care? Which policies promise to work best to eliminate poverty? Is poverty a disease, like malaria, that we will one day wipe out?

8. Commodification affects almost all aspects of our lives, including the major life transitions we make, such as birth (and giving birth), coming of age, getting married and dying. Take one of these life transitions and illustrate how it has become more commodified. For example, how has “getting married” changed over the last century? How do young people look on this transition today in ways different to their parents and grandparents and how much of this is reflected in marketing and advertising?