This course explores how the things we buy shape our personal identities and how individuals relate to corporations and advertisers, in the context of the emergence of modern consumer society from the 18th century to the present. It critically examines the shift from home-production economies to mass production. Examining how developments such as department stores, product branding, modern advertising, urbanization, and suburbanization have shaped society, politics, and the economy, the course provides a historical context for contemporary debates about consumer culture.
This course explores how the things we buy shape our personal identities and how individuals relate to corporations and advertisers, in the context of the emergence of modern consumer society from the 18th century to the present. It critically examines the shift from home-production economies to mass production. Examining how developments such as department stores, product branding, modern advertising, urbanization, and suburbanization have shaped society, politics, and the economy, the course provides a historical context for contemporary debates about consumer culture.
