Description
Whether buying at a general store or shopping at a mall, consumption has always formed an essential part of the American experience. More than just commodities bought and sold, consumption is also about the institutions, social practices, cultural meanings and economic functions that surround the merchandise. Bringing together business, labor and cultural history, this SDG will look at the changing meanings consumption has had for life, politics and the economy in the US. And what better time to consider the effects on consumption of the recent tariffs and the shift in consumption patterns during the Covid-10 pandemic!
Weekly Topics
Why study consumption?
Retail Distribution evolution: Sears and Montgomery Ward Catalogues, Department Stores, and Retail Premiums
The Stupid Experiment: Temperance, Saloons and NIckelodeons
A & P and Piggly Wiggly: Progressive Era Models of Retail
Premiums and Spectacles
Installment Credit
Television; The Mall
Afro-American Consumption
The Discount Retailer Revolution
Tariff's and Plagues. Where does consumerism go from here?
Bibliography
Core books:
Borrow, The American Way of Debt, Louis Hyman, Vintage Books 2012
Consumer Society in American History, edited by Lawrence Glickman, Cornell University 1999 (Articles noted as CS in list above)
Land of Desire, Merchants, Power and the Rise of A New American Culture, William Leach, Vintage Books 1993 (Articles noted as LD in list above - if you do not wish to purchase/borrow this book, I will be happy to scan the pages for you)
Cheap Amusements, Working Women and Leisure in Turn-of-the-Century New York, Kathy Peiss, Temple University 1986 (Articles noted as CA in list above - if you do not wish to purchase/borrow this book, I will be happy to scan the pages for you)
