John Wilson Fall
2001
Office: 263 Soc-Psych Bldg
Voicemail: 660-5622
E-mail: jwils@soc.duke.edu
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]
“In 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 on. Searches are conducted using professor and
course number. The Caplow reading must be accessed through JSTOR
[http://www.jstor.org/jstor/]. There will be two midterm examinations, each of
which will count for 20% percent of your grade, and a final examination, which
will count for 30% 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 during the class period on November 29th. Late
papers will not be graded. To help you get started on your paper a
bibliography of relevant readings is provided at:
[http://cinfo.aas.duke.edu/courses/].
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 “Personal 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 of. Each stage consists of many steps; each has to be learned. How we consume is as important as what we consume.
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 marked 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. Holt’s “Does Cultural Capital Structure American
Consumption” introduces the concept of cultural capital. As you read this
selection think about where ideas of “taste” come from and what role they play
in social stratification.
Lecture
6. Many
sociologists believe gender is the
most important division in society. As you read Bordo’s “Reading the Slender Body”, examine closely how Bordo
distinguishes between thinness and trimness. 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 consumerist? 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’
“Domesticity 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 “The Promotional University”. How does commodification affect the relation between student and
teacher?
Section D
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 “Sign Wars”, try to decode the strategies used
by modern marketers as they try to position their brand.
Lecture
13. The current obsession with image makes us
wonder whether there is anything behindthe 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 the real thing
or authenticity. Much of modern consuming can be explained by this hunger, as
we search for experiences that ring true.
Lecture
14. 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
“Consuming 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
15. 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? Has haute couture gone out
of style? Is the fashion system dying or has its form and function simply
changed? Davis’ “Flaunts 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 insinuate by understatement rather than flaunting their wealth? Why is
the dialectic of status claims never ending? What does endless reflexivity
mean, and why it is so crucial to Davis’ analysis? Why should the rich dress as plainly as their maids? Can you spot
other forms of calculated under-dressing around you? Can you think of other
consumer goods that have undergone the same inversions 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
16. 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. A global consumer culture appears to be
emerging, with global products, brands, companies and even customers. The
relevant reading is Giroux’s
“Consuming Social Change”, about Benetton’s attempt to establish itself as a
global brand by playing on the theme of United Colors. As you read this chapter, ask yourself why Benetton uses the aesthetics
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 depoliticizing. What image of global
culture, and of capitalism’s role in forging that culture, does this campaign
present?
Lecture
19. What happens to “native” cultures when they are
appropriated by global consumers? As you read Root’s “Conquest, 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
20. 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
21. 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
22. 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 “Rule 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 have 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
23. 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
August 28 Introduction
30 Objects and the self
September 4 The
extended self (Kamptner)
6 Appropriation
11 Objects as social codes
(Lichtenberg)
13 Class
and consumption (Devault, Holt)
18 Gender
and consumption (Bordo)
20 The
rise of the consumer society
25 Work,
home, and consumption (Matthews)
27 MID-TERM
EXAMINATION
October 2 Commodities
4 Commodification (Wernick)
9
Brands
11 Brands
16 Fall
Break
18 Sign
Wars (Goldman and Papson)
23 Authenticity
25 Consuming
History (Barthel)
30 MID-TERM
EXAMINATION
November 1 Fashion
(Davis)
6 Fashion
8 Shopping (Underhill)
13 Shopping
(Brown)
15 Global
consuming (Giroux)
20 Global
marketing (Root)
22 Thanksgiving
27 Ethics
of Consumption
29
Well-being (Lane)
December 5 Gift-giving
(Caplow)
6 Consumption
as resistance (McRobbie, Tinic)
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?
7. One topic which is always sure to generate
controversy is surrogate motherhood. Why has this “market” developed and what
kinds of ethical issues are raised by it?
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?