Seminar: Consumer Culture

History 407/507                                                                                                         Daniel Pope
Mondays 15:00-17:50                                                                                                331 McKenzie Hall
475 McKenzie                                                                                                            x4015
CRN: 14388/14404                                                                                                    Office Hours: Tu 10-12
                                                                                                                                            and Wed 1-2

    As students of history, you have most of the time been consumers of historical scholarship.  This is a worthy form of consumption. To be a discerning consumer capable of analyzing what you read and synthesizing different ideas is a high accomplishment.  In this seminar, however, your main role is as producer of historical research. Your major assignment is to research and write a 15-20 page paper (roughly 4000-6000 words) on a topic related to consumer culture. Your paper must be based on primary sources. What is a primary source? Here's a brief explanation , from my colleague Professor Peggy Pascoe's website . (What is "consumer culture"? We've got all term to figure that out, but we'll start in the first class session.)

    The seminar will have three phases. In the first phase, we will meet as a group for discussion of common readings and approaches to the topic of "consumer culture" and for discussion of issues and methods in historical research.  During these weeks, you and I must confer and agree on your paper topic. There will be brief assignments during these weeks aimed at formulating a suitable paper topic. In phase two, we won't hold regular class sessions; now you'll be actively researching your paper and meeting with me for feedback and advice. In the third phase, we'll reconvene for student presentations on their research. After this, you'll complete and submit your final paper.

    I've ordered two books at the University of Oregon Bookstore: Lawrence Glickman, ed., Consumer Society in American History: A Reader and Peter Stearns, Consumerism in World History . They should also be available on-line and elsewhere. Note that there are brief reading assignments in both books for the first class session.

Class Sessions

Sept. 25 (Week 1): Introduction
    We'll talk about the nature of a historical research seminar, what's expected of you, and what value (beyond fulfilling a requirement) the seminar might have. I hope to focus on some or all of the following:
1. How to ask historical questions and how to choose a paper topic.
2. Primary and secondary sources—what they are and how to find them (and a word about Wikipedia )
3. When to read history books and articles slowly and carefully—and when to read them very quickly
4. Libraries and archives—real and cyber
I also want to explore with you what your own conception of “consumer culture” might be and what has brought you to this course.

Readings: Please try to read the following brief items before class.
            1. “Introduction” and Raymond Williams, “Consumer” in Lawrence Glickman , ed., Consumer Society in American History: A Reader
2. “Preface,” pp. ix-xi in Peter N. Stearns, Consumerism in World History
3. An article I wrote for a website on using advertisements on the web as historical sources, on line here.
4. My colleague Peggy Pascoes valuable advice on what makes a good historical question, on line here.
            5. Some advice I've prepared on how to choose a research paper topic, on line here.

Oct. 2 (Week 2): Consumption before the Industrial Revolution
    Among the most interesting developments in the study of consumer culture are studies that find consumerism to have taken hold in various places (in particular Western Europe and North America) before mass production.  Was there a "consumer revolution" in the early modern Western world?

Readings:  1. Part Two: "Roots of American Consumer Society" (pp.85-146) in Glickman, Consumer Society
                  2. Chapters 1-4 (pp.1-43)  in Stearns, C onsumerism in World History 

Oct. 9 (Week 3): Consumerism and Mass Production
    Is a consumer society the inevitable consequence of a mass production economy? If a consumer society means that people's primary identities come from their consumption activities, how does consumerism relate to other identities we bear, notably those based on race, class and gender? What is the relationship between consumption and democracy? Could people retain (or create) a sense of their own power and agency through their choices as consumers?  These are some of the questions that emerge in this week's readings.

Readings: 1. Part Three, "Class, Gender and Modernity" (pp.147-273) in Glickman, Consumer Society
                  2. Chapters 5-6 (pp.44-71) in Stearns, Consumerism in World History

Assignment: By this date, you and I will have met to discuss your paper topic and you will have begun your research. Bring to class a one paragraph statement of your topic. Your statement should contain the historical question you plan to answer in your research paper. 
    Also bring a short list of the major primary sources you intend to use in your research. Attach a photocopy of a page from one of the primary sources on your list. When listing your sources, be specific.  If you're going to use published primary sources, list the titles. If you're going to use manuscript or archival materials, list the collection names and locations.

Oct. 16 (Week 4): Research and Writing
    We'll devote this week to some of the big questions: How can I find out information about my topic? How can I organize everything I have (notes, photocopies, thoughts in my head, documents on the computer, etc.) into a coherent and convincing paper?
    Another question may appear to be more trivial: How can I show where I got the material I'm using in my paper? It's not trivial, and we'll take some time to discuss the proper uses and forms of notes and bibliography.

Oct. 23 (Week 5): Consumerism in Contemporary History
    The vast changes not only in the United States but throughout the world in the last half-century or so have greatly affected the structures, processes and meanings of consumption. This week, we'll look at aspects of consumption in post World War II America and in the non-Western world. Is there a world-wide consumer culture? Is it the product of Western imperial domination of the rest of the world? How, and to what extent, have regional and national cultural patterns created a variety of different consumer cultures?

Readings: 1. Chapters 14-16 (pp.277-325) in Glickman, Consumer Society
                  2. Chapters 7-11 (pp.73-136) in Stearns, Consumerism in World History

Oct. 30 (Week 6): Some Reflections on Consumer Culture

Readings: 1. Chapters 2, 3, 20 and 23 (by Campbell, Baudrillard, Schudson and Agnew respectively) in Glickman, Consumer Society
                  2. Thorstein Veblen, "Conspicuous Consumption," chapter 4 of The Theory of the Leisure Class (first published in 1899), on line here . Veblen was one of America's most brilliant and original social thinkers.
                  3. Raymond Williams, "Advertising: The Magic System," on line here . This is a classic essay (and a personal favorite) written by a great British social and cultural theorist.

Assignment: By this date, you should have refined your paper topic, conducted the bulk of your research, and organized your thoughts about the seminar paper. Bring to class an outline of your paper.
    Also bring to class a one-paragraph statement of your topic and an outline of your paper. The one-paragraph topic statement may be identical to the one you submitted on October 9, but it is likely that your research will have modified it. Professor Pascoe offers good advice on the outline:

Begin with a sentence that describes the point, or thesis, of your paper.
Follow this with a more schematic outline of the rest of your paper (short phrases or sometimes even words, will do). Your goal is to write an outline that both your classmates and your professor will understand at a glance. The organizational scheme you choose should be one that fits both your topic and the historical interpretation you want to give. Your paper might be organized in a simple chronological fashion, but it's likely that you'll find that a different kind of organization (i.e., comparative, thematic or so on) will work more effectively to bring your point home to readers, so keep all these possibilities in mind as you write your outline.

Nov. 6 (Week 7) and Nov. 13 (Week 8): No Classes--Research and Writing
    During these weeks, you'll be completing your research and doing the bulk of your writing.  Each of you should meet with me at least once during this period.

When you're considering what to say about your paper, you might try these (or other) possibilities:
    * Go back to our list of the four things a good historical paper should do (ask a good historical question, use primary sources, connect its interpretation to previous work in the field, and present a well-organized and persuasive thesis) and tell us how you will do each of these in your paper.
    * Tell us the historical question you were most interested in when you started the paper and how that question has changed along the way. What surprises did you encounter while doing research and how will you handle them?
    * Tell us about challenges you are still trying to figure out while writing the final paper.

Hint: In oral presentations, it is more important to grab--and hold--the interest of your audience than it is to present each and every detail of your argument. So use this assignment as an opportunity to think about "big" questions, such as why your topic is interesting, or what your research paper contributes that is original or significant.

Your final paper is due by 5:00 Wednesday, December 6.

Grading

Your seminar paper: about 70% of the your course grade.

Class participation: about 15% of the course grade.

Assignments and oral presentation: about 15% of the course grade.

Some General Advice

1. Attendance is required, except in cases of obvious hardships such as a health problem. If, for some reason, you cannot come to a session, I expect you to make a serious effort to notify me in advance. Because of the size of the seminar, it may also be necessary to schedule one or two extra sessions for student presentations near the end of the term.

2. The seminar should be a cooperative experience. You and your classmates owe it to each other to listen to contributions attentively and to share ideas and information with them. I expect people to participate.

3. Especially in a short academic quarter, the seminar demands a sustained commitment of your time. You should plan to devote a significant amount of time each week to it. Common reading assignments will be quite extensive, and I will expect people to come to class prepared.

4. Consult with me throughout the term. I will set aside times for appointments to discuss your research. Please keep these appointments and check in with me as your work progresses.