ISF 100I: Consumer Society and Culture
Following Weber, Veblen, and Bourdieu, social scientists often emphasize consumers’ motivations to establish or display their status. In many ways, consumption defines our lives – our identities as consumers are even more important, some would argue, than our identities as workers or producers. But what are the implications of a society in which “you are what you consume?” In this class, we will address: Under what conditions does a “consumer society” develop? What does global commodity chain tell us about colonialization, global inequality, and environmental injustice? How can we shape the life cycle of basic commodities—from raw materials to iPhones, from creation to destruction–in a socially sustainable way? This course will be interdisciplinary in its attempt to understand consumer society and culture in terms of political economy, geography, history, anthropology and sociology. It is divided into six major segments: “Consumption and Inequality,” “Consumption, Meaning and Identity,” “Global Commodity Chain,” “Consumption in Contemporary China,” “Critiques of Consumer Society,” and “Environment, Sustainability, and Social Justice”. The goal of this course is to provide students with a broad overview of debates and theories about consumption, and to provide them with an opportunity to explore a consumption-related topic themselves. Through this course, students explored the social and ethical context of global consumption, its influence on society, and how our choices as consumers impact our understanding of life and our relations to the environment.
Assignment/Exam Example:
I designed a participant observation-based assignment for this class, requiring students to compare and contrast one (inter)national chain store and a local or independent store in the same sector, in terms of physical layout of the store, interactions between customers and salesclerks, and the merchandise or services provided. Students were encouraged to bring concepts learned in the course to their investigations, for example, who are the customers buying only organic produce, or who frequent second-hand clothing stores, or who are the customers at Taco Bell at midnight? The assignment tied various concepts learned in the classroom together in a real-world setting. Initially designed during a test run of this course in Summer 2017, this assignment’s effectiveness in fulfilling pedagogical goals persuaded me to adopt it when offering the course again in Fall 2019. A pedagogical piece about this assignment, entitled “Take Me Shopping: Hands-on Learning Experience in a Consumer Society and Culture Course,” was published in 2018 by the journal Advertising & Society Quarterly.
When I offered this course again in Fall 2020, during the pandemic, this assignment, which required qualitative observation in public spaces, such as a café, was no longer feasible. To comply with CDC protocols without sacrificing the student-led group work component in assessing their learning, I designed a completely different assignment. To foster a sense of community among students who were isolated and lived in different time zones, I transformed the field research into a “documentary watch party” style group assignment. Students worked in teams of six to seven. Each week, a team of students would recommend and present on two or three documentaries relevant to the theme and main concepts covered in that week. Then the whole class discussed and voted for the documentary to watch over the weekend by using the poll function in Zoom. To win the vote, the documentary should capture multiple issues addressed in class, on top of overall high quality of the production. The assignment was well received by the students because it allowed them to critically engage with the course materials and demonstrate their own initiatives in their documentary selections, on top of learning to work effectively in teams. Lastly, the presentations and the breakout room discussions after each student presentation were very rewarding because they broke the monotonous lecturing mode and encouraged students’ participation. Not only did the student presenters feel their input was highly valued, but also participation among the audience was high, especially for the vote at the end of the Friday afternoon class. While documentaries recommended by faculty were often ignored by students, peer recommendation led to many students watching the films in question. I was also able to assess the students’ understanding of the course materials from the documentary choices and their presentations highlighting each documentary’s relevance.
What Students Say
“Honestly, one of my favorite courses I've taken here at Cal. The course content was very interesting and thought–provoking which is exactly what I want out of my college classes. The instructor taught the content very well and thoroughly. Thank you so much for offering this class!” – Fall 2019
“I LOVE PROFESSOR XU!!!!!! SHE IS BRILLIANT!!! I looooooved getting to attend her lectures and learn so much! She's clearly incredibly bright and I thoroughly enjoyed listening to what she had to say. She has a great attitude and is very funny and witty, but also extremely educated and always delivers informative and fascinating lectures. I think she's one of my favorite teachers I've ever had at Cal.” – Fall 2021
“I really liked Dr. Xu's attitude. She gets it. Her ability to communicate the importance and relevance of these abstract notions while binding them to real, understandable phenomena in our society is peerless. Her facility with media, in academic and popular forms, is such an underappreciated skill in instructors. I thought she was very available and did a lot of the right things to foment a very comfortable, responsive learning environment where everyone felt comfortable adding on their unique perspective. Very great professor.” – Fall 2021
“Dr.Xu is professional and respectful toward her studies and the students. The concept of consumer society is something that many people have heard in daily life, but not many have chances to learn about its scholars and narratives. I think the professor did an excellent job to help students understand the materials and even relate them to our daily life. I really loved her curriculum of group presentation of documentaries. It helps me to get familiar with the key themes and discourses when I see these kinds of outside sources.” – Fall 2021