The History of Consumption in the US

general courses

Remote learning

The course discusses the role and history of consumption in the US since the colonial period to the modern day.

The course focuses on the role of consumption in the everyday lives of Americans. The first three meetings are in the form of a lecture, the final meeting will be a discussion.

The first meeting focuses on consumption in the colonial era, its role in the formation of national identity, and the development of the market in the US in the early 19th century.

The second meeting focuses on the changes in the second half of the 19th century (also known as the Gilded Age), particularly focusing on the development of retail, the increasing role of the managerial class, and the controversies surrounding the practices of the wealthiest industrialist and financiers in that period.

The third meeting focuses on the changes of the 20th century, particularly the rapid technological development and its impact on both the number of available products as well as the market in general. It will also discuss the changes in the economy that occurred in the 1980s.

The final meeting will be a discussion of the role of consumption and consumer goods. It will look at the approach of such authors as Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi, Russell Belk and Arjun Appadurai.

Appadurai, Arjun. “Introduction: Commodities and the Politics of Value.” The Social Life of Things: Commodities in Cultural Perspective. Ed. Arjun Appadurai. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1986, 3–63.

Appleby, Joyce. Inheriting the Revolution: The First Generation of Americans. Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press, 2000.

Belk, Russell W. “Possessions and the Extended Self.” Journal of Consumer Research, 15 (1988): 139–168.

Blaszczyk, Regina Lee. American Consumer Society, 1865-2005. From Hearth to HDTV. Wheeling, Illinois: Harlan Davidson, 2009.

Shaped American Independence. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005.

Cross, Gary. An All-Consuming Century: Why Commercialism Wonin Modern America. New York: Columbia University Press, 2000.

Csikszentmihalyi, Mihaly. “The Costs and Benefits of Consuming.” Journal of Consumer Research 27. 2 (2000): 267–272.

Geisst, Charles R. Wall Street. A History. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012.

Larsen, John Lauritz. The Market Revolution in America: Liberty Ambition, and the Eclipse of the Common Good. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009.

Leach, William R. Land of Desire: Merchants, Power, and the Rise of a New American Culture. New York: Vintage, 2011.

Rimini, Robert V. The Jacksonian Era.

Students have a basic knowledge of the history of consumption in the US.

Students understand the role of consumption in the US and its economic significance.

Students are aware of the most important developments in retail.

Students are aware of the complexity of consumption and the role of consumer goods in everyday life.

Attendance, in-class activity, final test (open-ended questions).

Retake is in the form of an oral exam.

Maximum number of absences: 1