module

Undergraduate Module Descriptor

SOC2110: Consumption and Society

This module descriptor refers to the 2020/1 academic year.

Overview

In this module we explore how the contemporary social self is shaped by its involvement in economic interactions as consumer and how the changes in the world of shopping represent social change in general. The module will introduce key theories of consumerism and consumer culture. In addition to looking at such issues as the evolution of consumer culture, the relationship between the self and the objects of consumption, we will look at characteristic features of consumerism such as advertising, examine different sites and spaces of consumption such as the shopping centre and the internet, and study major fields of consumption, such as fashion.