21H.206
American Consumer Culture
Fall 2007
Topics
- Introduction to the world of goods
- Downtown shopping
- Leisure time
- The business of consumption
- Roaring twenties
- Advertising the American dream
- Abundance and its critics (I)
- Status seeking in the suburbs
- Age of television
- McDonalds, microwaves, and the mega-rich
- Abundance and its critics (II)
- E-bay and beyond
Readings
- Horowitz, Daniel, and Vance Packard, eds. Status Seekers . Bedford: St. Martin’s, 1995. ISBN: 9780312111809.
- Schlosser, Eric. Fast Food Nation . New York, NY: Perennial, 2005. ISBN: 9780060838584.
- WEEK #: 2 · TOPICS: Downtown shopping · READINGS: Dreiser. Sister Carrie. Chapters 1-3, 5-8, 10, and 12-14.
- WEEK #: 3 · TOPICS: Leisure time · READINGS: Dreiser. Sister Carrie. Chapters 16, 20-21, and 23-27.
- WEEK #: 4 · TOPICS: The business of consumption · READINGS: Dreiser. Sister Carrie. Chapters 28-39, 42, and 44-47.
- WEEK #: 5 · TOPICS: Roaring twenties · READINGS: Lewis. Babbitt. Chapters 1-7.
- WEEK #: 7 · TOPICS: Advertising the American dream · READINGS: Lewis. Babbitt. Chapters 8-18.
- WEEK #: 8 · TOPICS: Abundance and its critics (I) · READINGS: Lewis. Babbitt. Chapters 19-34.
- WEEK #: 9 · TOPICS: Status seeking in the suburbs · READINGS: Packard. Status Seekers. Chapters 1-7, 9-12, and 20-21.
- WEEK #: 10 · TOPICS: Age of television · READINGS: Packard. Status Seekers. Chapters 13-14, 17-19, 22, and 24.
- WEEK #: 11 · TOPICS: McDonalds, microwaves, and the mega-rich · READINGS: Schlosser. Fast Food Nation. Part I.
- WEEK #: 12 · TOPICS: Abundance and its critics (II) · READINGS: Schlosser. Fast Food Nation. Part II.
- Packard, Vance. Status Seekers. (1959)
- Schlosser, Eric. Fast Food Nation. (2001)
Sources
- Course catalogue ↗Historical OpenCourseWare
- MIT OCW readings ↗
- MIT OCW calendar ↗
- MIT OCW syllabus ↗
- Historical MIT OpenCourseWare offering. Named reading entries and schedule topics are automatically extracted from the linked source pages.