COMMODITIES AND CONSUMPTION

Credit Hours: 3 · Undergraduate Upper-Level

In a world of rapidly changing technologies, consumers and their commodities are now central to economic growth in most parts of the world. Consumer spending remains resilient, accounting for the bulk of economic activity in the world’s largest economies. Where do the resources come from to sustain such growth, and for whom? What are the conditions that facilitated this current social, political economic climate? This course is an anthropological approach to the study of consumption and the processes that entangle people and objects together on a global scale. Throughout the course we will examine how consumption practices shape the modern world by emphasizing its impact on individual behaviors, the environment, the economy and public policy. This class will address a wide variety of processes involved in the creation, exchange and, consumption of commodities in a global historical context. Special attention will be paid to labor practices and social identities that are intricately tied to the way human consume and the material objects they acquire. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for ANTH 319 if student has credit for ANTH 519.