History 367-010
David Suisman
University of Delaware
Office: Munroe 118
Tel. 831-2386
Email dsuisman@udel.edu
Office hours: Tuesdays, 4:00-6:00
and by appointment
Class meeting: Memorial 113, Tues. & Thurs. 2:00-3:15
Fall 2005
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American Consumer Capitalism History 367-010 David Suisman University of Delaware Office: Munroe 118 Tel. 831-2386 Email dsuisman@udel.edu Office hours: Tuesdays, 4:00-6:00 and by appointment Class meeting: Memorial 113, Tues. & Thurs. 2:00-3:15 Fall 2005 |
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Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers --
Wordsworth
I can get no remedy against this consumption of the purse; Borrowing only lingers and lingers it out, but the disease is incurable. --
Shakespeare
Course Description Today we are awash in an ocean of consumer goods, and the language of buying and selling informs nearly all aspects of our society, from education to elections, from healthcare to the allocation of natural resources. In this course we will explore the origins and development of this contemporary phenomenon, with readings, lectures, and discussions designed to introduce you to the historical and theoretical foundations underpinning today's world. Our work will take us across a wide range of topics--from department stores and advertising agencies to television newsrooms and music recording studios--as a way to understand more abstract concepts like commodification, cultural capital, and globalization. We will also consider the variety of ways that scholars, critics, and ordinary people have felt and thought about the expanding world of goods and desires. Knowing that each of you already brings a wealth of opinions, insights, and experiences to this subject, I look forward to your creative engagement with this material. To do well in this course you will have to do more than merely complete the assignments. You will have to think about them--form opinions, make connections, and, especially, ask questions. Requirements 1. Reading and participation in discussion. (15%) 2. Reaction papers - due Sept. 8 and Oct. 27 (15%) 3. Short paper - 3-5 pages - due Sept. 29 (15%) - details here 4. Midterm exam - Oct. 13 (15%) 5. Longer paper - 6-8 pages - due Nov. 22 (20%) - details here 6. Take-home final exam - The exam will be given out in class on Dec. 6. You will have 72 hours to complete the exam. (20%) * All papers must be handed in at the beginning of class on the day they are due. Late papers will be penalized according to when they are handed in. Policies: Email, Grading, and Plagiarism Email
I will communicate--occasionally at least, perhaps often--via email. You will be responsible for reading and responding accordingly to these emails. If you have questions about them (or any other aspect of the course) it is your responsibility to ask. (Some of you may prefer to use outside email accounts--hotmail or whatever--instead of your UD address. However, because I will be emailing the class only through the UD email addresses, you will need to insure that your UD email is forwarded to whatever account you use. Instructions for email forwarding can be found at http://www.udel.edu/topics/e-mail/unixforward.html.) Grading
Written work will be graded according to the following scale. A - Superb work: clear, focused thesis - thorough and persuasive use of evidence - lucid, polished writing (well-organized, with clear transitions - free of grammatical, syntactical and typographic errors) - thoughtful, original ideas - sophisticated appreciation of complexities and ambiguities in evidence and analysis B - Good work: clear thesis, supported by appropriate evidence - solid writing skills, with clear transitions and few grammatical, syntactical or typographical errors - good research and relevant analysis C - Acceptable but undistinguished work: lacking a clear argument - thesis inadequately supported by evidence - ideas are unclear, contradictory, inaccurate, obvious - quotations are left hanging without analysis or exposition - weak organization - awkward or nonexistent transitions - careless reading, superficial research - numerous stylistic errors (grammar, syntax, spelling; typos) D / F - Unacceptable work: fails to fulfill the assignment in significant ways - no thesis at all - inadequate research, total absence of evidence - lacking analysis, includes only cursory summary of sources - serious reading problems or comprehension of sources - too short - poor organization - no transitions between ideas - severe problems with language skills (syntax, grammar, spelling) - sloppy, overrun with typographical errors Plagiarism
Plagiarism is the act of presenting someone else's work as your own. It is a form of dishonesty--a form of cheating, in fact--and will not be tolerated under any circumstances. Plagiarism is not limited to using another person's exact words; using someone else's ideas without attribution is also a form of plagiarism. The amount you plagiarize doesn't matter: cheating is cheating. The good news about plagiarism is that it is easily avoided by clearly citing your sources. If you do, you can safely avoid even the hint of improper usage of someone else's work. If you are found to have plagiarized on any assignment, you will not be permitted to pass the course. If you have any questions about plagiarism, do not hesitate to ask. Readings The following books have been ordered at the UD bookstore:
` Course schedule |
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30 - Introduction September 1 - The Early Modern Origins of Consumer Capitalism Reading: none September 6 - The Market Revolution September 8 - Nineteenth-century Ideas about Consumption Reading (memo): Henry David Thoreau, "Economy" in Walden - click here Alexis de Tocqueville, vol. 2, chaps. 10-13 - here Daniel Horowitz, The Morality of Spending: Attitudes Towards Consumer Society in America, 1875-1940 (Chicago, 1992), ch. 1 - here Assignment: Reaction paper #1 due in class, Thurs., Sept. 8 - click here for details |
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 William Christenberry, Wall Construction V (1985) |
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September 13 - Industry and Labor September 15 - Corporate Reconstruction of America Reading (memo): Alan Trachtenberg, The Incorporation of America: Culture and Society in the Gilded Age (New York, 1982), ch. 2-3 - click here In class: Ungraded quiz (must be handed in) Sept. 20 & 22 - Markets, Goods, Desires Reading (memo): Neil Harris, "The Drama of Consumer Desire," in Cultural Excursions: Marketing Appetites and Cultural Tastes in Modern America (Chicago, 1990), 174-197 - click here Sinclair Lewis, Babbitt (1922), ch. 5 and ch 6 Thorstein Veblen, "Conspicuous Consumption" originally published in The Theory of the Leisure Class: An Economic Study of Institutions (1925), reprinted in The Consumer Socity Reader, ed. Martyn Lee (Blackwell, 2000), 31-47 - here Sept. 27 & 29 - Women as Buyers and Sellers Reading (memo): Annie McLean, "Two Weeks in a Department Store," and O. Henry, "The Trimmed Lamp," in Land of Contrasts, ed. Neil Harris - click here Susan Porter Benson, Counter Cultures: Saleswomen, Managers, and Customers in American Department Stores (Urbana and Chicago, 1986), ch. 3 - here Assignment: Short paper due Thurs., Sept. 29 - details here |
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| October 4 &
6 - Strategies of Enticement Reading (memo): Edward Bernays, Biography of an Idea: Memoirs of a Public Relations Counsel (New York, 1965), ch. 26 and 29 - click here James Rorty, Our Master's Voice: Advertising (New York, 1934), ch. 3, 5, 9 - here |
 "Business succeeds rather better than the state in imposing its restraints upon individuals, because its imperatives are disguised as choices." - Walton Hamilton
(1881-1958) economist, educator, attorney |
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| October 11 & 13 - National Markets,
Local Cultures Reading (memo): Lizabeth Cohen, "Encountering Mass Culture at the Grassroots: The Experience of Chicago Workers in the 1920s" American Quarterly 41 (Mar. 1989), 6-33 - click here October 13: Midterm exam October 18 & 20 - The Politics of Consumption and Vice Versa Reading (memo): Charles McGovern, "Consumption and Citizenship, 1900-1940," in Getting and Spending: European and American Consumer Societies in the Twentieth Century (New York, 1998) - click here Roland Marchand, Creating the Corporate Soul: The Rise of Public Relations and Corporate Imagery in American Big Business (Berkeley, 1998), ch. 6 - here Richard Peterson, Creating Country Music: Fabricating Authenticity (Chicago, 1992) - chaps. 1-3 October 25 & 27 - The Production of Culture Reading (memo): Peterson, Creating Country Music - chaps. 4-6, 8, 11, 12 Here are some examples of the music that Peterson writes about:
Assignment: Reaction paper #2 due Thursday, Oct. 27 |
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November 1 & 3 - Critical Reactions Readings (memo): Gary Cross, An All-Consuming Century: Why Commercialism Won in Modern America (New York, 2002), ch. 4 - click here Tom Frank, The Conquest of Cool: Business Culture, Counterculture, and the Rise of Hip Consumerism (Chicago, 1997) - begin reading, emphasis on ch. 1 and 3 November 8 & 10 - Society of the Spectacle Reading (memo): Frank, Conquest of Cool - finish, emphasis on ch. 4, 6-8 |
 Steve Czakalinski, Dupont employee, poses with family and year’s supply of food - click to enlarge |
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November 15 & 17 - What's News (Society of the Spectacle, continued) Reading (memo): Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business (New York, 1986), ch. 6-7 - click here Mark Hertsgaard, On Bended Knee: The Press and the Reagan Presidency (New York, 1988) - chap. 4-5 and chap. 7 In class (Nov. 15): film screening of Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media (1992), Pt. 1 November 22 & 24 (Thanksgiving) - Intellectual Property Reading: none In class: paper due in class, Tuesday, Nov. 22 - details here |
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November 29 & December 1 - Globalization Reading (memo): Naomi Klein, No Logo: Taking Aim at the Brand Bullies (New York, 2000), ch. 9 - click here Alan Durning, How Much Is Enough?: The Consumer Society and the Future of the Earth (New York, 1992) - begin December 6 - Consuming the Environment Reading: Durning, How Much Is Enough? - finish Take-home final exam handed out at the end of class |
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