BA_CC Consumer Culture

University of Finance and Administration
Winter 2017
Extent and Intensity
1/1/0. 6 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Jitka Cirklová, M.A., Ph.D. (seminar tutor)
Guaranteed by
Mgr. Jitka Cirklová, M.A., Ph.D.
Subdepartment of Management and Marketing – Department of Economics and Management – Departments – University of Finance and Administration
Contact Person: Ing. Edita Jerie, DiS.
Timetable of Seminar Groups
BA_CC/cMCPH: each odd Monday 10:30–11:14 E224, each odd Monday 11:15–12:00 E224, J. Cirklová
BA_CC/pMCPH: each odd Monday 8:45–9:29 E224, each odd Monday 9:30–10:15 E224, J. Cirklová
Prerequisites
The course is offered to students of any study field. There are no prerequisites for this course.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is offered to students of any study field.
Course objectives
Course objectives The course Consumer culture enrich the knowledge of students in the area of Sociology of consumption. Course is planed for one semestr with 24 hours of lectures and 12 hours of seminar (combined form students 10 hours). Students will obtain 6 credits after succesful examination. The course focuses on the desires, values and indentities that intersect consumer practices and trends today and in selected historical periods. We approach this topic from the basic sociological assumption that there is more than just material satisfaciton to the material needs. We can ask how social, economic, politic and environmental aspects are related to the consumption culture? We are going to use sociological theories and methodology in order to understand deeper dynamic of the consumption culture.
Learning outcomes
Course objectives The course Consumer culture enrich the knowledge of students in the area of Sociology of consumption. Course is planed for one semestr with 24 hours of lectures and 12 hours of seminar (combined form students 10 hours). Students will obtain 6 credits after succesful examination. The course focuses on the desires, values and indentities that intersect consumer practices and trends today and in selected historical periods. We approach this topic from the basic sociological assumption that there is more than just material satisfaciton to the material needs. We can ask how social, economic, politic and environmental aspects are related to the consumption culture? We are going to use sociological theories and methodology in order to understand deeper dynamic of the consumption culture.
Syllabus
  • Syllabus 1. Introduction: What is consumption? What is consumption culture: How do we study it? Production and consumption in pre-capitalist societies. Various approaches to the access to the material resources. Ritual of Potlach in Cananda, Big men of New Guinea, and Kula. 2. The Gift. Three obligations of the gift. The gift as the imprtant topic of the social research. 3. Sugar – sweetness and power. Consumption comodity and its transformation in colonial history and in global context. 4. Mass production and mass consumption. The Fordist model. 5. Cultural Creativism – term, trend and strategy of consumption. 6. What Became Authentic Primitive Art? Contemporary cultural tourism, commodification of local culture. How local craft become a luxury art. 7. Ethical consumption. Ecological luxury. Anticonsumerism. 8. Brands as a refuge. Brands and identity. Social dimension of brands. 9. Cultural variety of consumption. McDonaldization. Comodification of cultural identities. 10. Social problems solved by consumption. Comodification of childhood, sport, music, sacred. Space of consumption in urban settings. 11. World system theory. Immanuel Wallerstein. 12.Globalization and consumption. Global and local level impacts of consumption
Literature
    required literature
  • 1. KATZ, Wallace. The Global City: New York, London, Tokyo By Saskia Sassen//Globalization and Its Discontents By Saskia Sassen. New Labor Forum[online]. 1999, no. 5, s. 97. ISSN 10957960.
  • 1. SCOTT, William R. The Commodification of Childhood: The Children's Clothing Industry and the Rise of the Child Consumer. History [online]. 2004, vol. 33, no. 1, s. 13. ISSN 03612759.
  • 1. GILLS, Barry K. Janet Abu-Lughod and the World System: The History of World System Development and the Development of World System History. Journal of World - Systems Research [online]. 2014, vol. 20, no. 2, s. 174-179.
  • 1. BARBER, Pauline G. a Winnie LEM. Commodities, capitalism and globalization - Introduction. Anthropologica [online]. 2004, vol. 46, no. 2, s. 123-129. ISSN 00035459.
  • 1. LONG, M. A. (2010). An analysis of ethical consumption participation and motivation (Order No. 3419059). Available from ProQuest Central. (750992741). Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/docview/750992741?accountid=37662
  • SHAW, D., & RIACH, K. (2011). Embracing ethical fields: Constructing consumption in the margins. European Journal of Marketing, 45(7), 1051-1067. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/03090561111137606
  • 1. DOMMER, Sara Loughran. Three essays examining the various identity expressive functions of brands. Ann Arbor: University of Pittsburgh, 2012. Order No. 3529489. ISBN 9781267660411.
  • 1. ROUBAL, O. Sociology of a Brand – "Just Do It" in the "No Limits" world. Communication Today, 2017, Vol. 8, No. 1, p. 40-52. ISSN 1338-130X
  • 1. ARSAVA, Jerry. Globalization gathers steam: Two schools of thought offer very different interpretations. Calgary Herald [online]. Jan 09, . 1999, s. I8. ProQuest Central. ISSN 08281815.
    recommended literature
  • SORON, Dennis. The McDonaldization of Society: 20th Anniversary Edition. Canadian Journal of Sociology (Online) [online]. 2013, vol. 38, no. 3, s. 447-449.
  • 1. LITONJAE, Bing D. FROM `RATIONALIZATION' TO `MCDONALDIZATION'. St.Louis Post - Dispatch (Pre-1997 Fulltext) [online]. Jun 06, . 1993, s. 06C. ProQuest Central.
  • 1. MINTZ, S., 1985: Sweetness and Power: The Place of Sugar in Modern History. Peunguin Books. ISBN 0140092331 (ISBN13: 9780140092332).
  • 1. MURRAY, Gail S. THE LONG HISTORY OF CHILDREN AS CONSUMERS. Reviews in American History [online]. 2005, vol. 33, no. 1, s. 84-88. ISSN 00487511.
  • 1. GRAVES, Philip. Consumer.ology: the truth about consumers and the psychology of shopping. 2nd ed. London: Nicholas Brealey, c2013. ISBN 9781857889239.
  • 1. HA, Jae-Pil. The role of acculturation and ethnic identity in understanding Asians' sport consumption behavior in the United States. Ann Arbor: University of Louisville, 2012. Order No. 3531457. ISBN 9781267733320.
  • BULMER, Sandy a Margo BUCHANAN-OLIVER. Experiences of brands and national identity. Australasian Marketing Journal [online]. 2010, vol. 18, no. 4, s. 199-205. ISSN 14413582.
  • 1. MONAGHAN, David a Peter IKELER. Global Centrality and Income Inequality in U.S. Metropolitan Areas: A Test of Two Hypotheses. Sociological Focus [online]. 2014, vol. 47, no. 3, s. 174-193. ISSN 00380237.
Teaching methods
Interactive lectures + focused discussions during lectures. Minimal seminar participation - 75%. Tutorials for part-time students. Minimal tutorial participation - 50%. Students may get additional tasks, in order to prove their competencies during specific study period and to close successfully the above mentioned subject. ISP students are required to contact the lecturer at the start of the semestr to set up their personal plan of consultation and deadlines for work they need to subbmit in order to complete the course.
Assessment methods
Credits are obtained aginst subbmitting 3 esseys on selected topic (TBA at the start of the semester) and after final exam at the end of the semester. Lectures are going to be published in IS. The areas and the topics of final exam are going to be published at the start of the semester.
Language of instruction
English
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Information on the extent and intensity of the course: 10 hodin KS/semestr.
The course is also listed under the following terms Winter 2018, Winter 2019, Winter 2020, Winter 2021, Winter 2022, Winter 2023, Winter 2024, Summer 2025.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Winter 2017, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.vsfs.cz/course/vsfs/winter2017/BA_CC