Jun 11 2008
Syllabus
AMST 313: America in the Twentieth Century
Instructor: Professor Krystyn Moon
Class Meetings: MWF 2:00-2:50AM
Classroom: Monroe 201
Office Hours: MWF 10:00-11:00AM, 1:00-2:00PM, or by appointment
Office: Monroe 209C
E-mail: kmoon at umw.edu
Office Phone: (540) 654-1479
Assignments:
Class Participation—Students are expected to contribute to class discussions at least eleven times during the semester. Grades will be based on whether a student participated and the substance of his/her comments.
Reflection Blog—On a weekly basis, students will reflect on their individual blog about the reading assignments and class discussion for the previous week. All reflections will be due on the following Monday morning by 8:00AM to receive full credit. Grades will be based on the depth of analysis or insight; organization and clarity; and grammar and usage. The inclusion of links, images, or sounds is also acceptable.
Shopping Blog Project—Every two weeks, students will post commodities that they have found to be personally interesting to the class’s shopping blog. Posts need to tell the reader where they can obtain the object; how much it costs; any important information from the retailer; an explanation as to why he/she has chosen to post this particular item; and why others might be interested in it. All shopping posts will be due Friday mornings by 8:00AM (with the exception of Monday, November, 24) on the days in which we will review these blog posts in class (see class schedule for particular dates). Grades will be based on the creativity of post; the inclusion of links and images; organization and clarity; and grammar and usage. Shopping posts will be graded at the end of the semester, allowing students to revise their posts after our class discussion.
Final Essay—Students will write a 7-to-10-page essay on the relationship between consumerism and American identity during the twentieth century, which is due during finals week on Friday, December 12 from 3:30-6:00PM. The essay must incorporate Isenberg, Schor, Strasser, and Rome’s work; fieldtrips around Fredericksburg; and the class’ shopping blog.
Grading:
The instructor will give an unsatisfactory mid-semester report for anyone with a grade of D or below on work completed at that time. Students must complete ALL assignments in order to pass this course. Below is the grade breakdown:
- Class Participation – 20%
- Reflection Blog – 20%
- Shopping Blog – 30%
- Final Essay – 30%
Grading Rationale:
Academic performance is rated according to the following system:
A 4.00 quality points—Excellent
A- 3.70 quality points
B+ 3.30 quality points
B 3.00 quality points—Commendable
B- 2.70 quality points
C+ 2.30 quality points
C 2.00 quality points—Acceptable
C- 1.70 quality points
D+ 1.30 quality points
D 1.00 quality points—Marginal
F 0.00 quality points—Failure
Honor Code:
The instructor believes that the Honor Code is an essential, positive component of the Mary Washington experience. You should know that if you cheat or plagiarize in this class, you will be taken to the Honor Council. So, do not do it. On the other hand, I also believe that having friends or family read and comment on your writing can be extremely helpful and falls within the bounds of the Honor Code (assuming the writing itself remains yours). If you have questions about these issues, then you should talk to me as soon as possible.
Accommodations:
If a student receives services through the Office of Disability Services and requires accommodations for this class, please make an appointment with the instructor as soon as possible to discuss his/her approved accommodation needs. Bring the accommodation letter with you to the appointment. The instructor will hold any information the student shares in the strictest confidence unless the student gives the instructor permission to do otherwise. If a student needs accommodations (note taking assistance or extended time for tests), please consult with the Office of Disability Services (x1266) about the appropriate documentation of a disability.
Reading List:
Juliet B. Schor and Douglas B. Holt (ed.), The Consumer Society Reader
Alison Isenberg, Downtown America: a history of the place and the people who made it
Juliet B. Schor, The Overspent American: Why We want What We Don’t Need
Susan Strasser, Satisfaction Guaranteed: The Making of the American Mass Market
Adam Rome, The Bulldozer in the Countryside: Suburban Sprawl and the Rise of American Environmentalism
Robert Webb, “Storm over Manassas: A Plan to Develop Part of Virginia’s Famed Civil War Battlefield is Provoking the Greatest Preservation Battle in Years,” Historic Preservation 40.4 (1988): 38-45 (Blackboard).
Class Schedule:
Week 1: Introduction
- August 25: Introduction
- August 27: Blogging with Jim Groom
- August 29: What is consumerism?
Week 2: Theories of Consumption
- September 1: Marx, “The Fetishism of the Commodity and its Secret,” The Reader, 331-342
- September 3: Baudrillard, “The Ideological Genesis of Needs,” The Reader, 57-80
- September 5: Review Blog Posts
Week 3: Making Mass Consumerism (I)
- September 8: Strasser, Satisfaction Guaranteed, 3-88
- September 10: Strasser, 89-162
- September 12: Advertising Analysis
Week 4: Making Mass Consumerism (II)
- September 15: Strasser, 163-251
- September 17: Strasser, 252-293
- September 19: Review Blog Posts
Week 5: Main Street U.S.A. (I)
- September 22: Isenberg, Downtown America, 13-77
- September 24: Isenberg, 78-165
- September 26: Visit Downtown Fredericksburg, Virginia
Week 6: Main Street U.S.A. (II)
- September 29: Isenberg, 166-254
- October 1: Isenberg, 255-319
- October 3: Review Blog Posts
Week 7: Shopping Malls
- October 6: Webb, “Storm over Manassas,” Historic Preservation 40.4 (1988): 38-45 (Blackboard).
- October 8: Fiske, “Shopping for Pleasure: Malls, Power, and Resistance,” The Reader, 306-330.
- October 10: Visit Spotsylvania Mall
Week 8 (Fall Break): Women and Consumerism
- October 13: no class
- October 15: Radway, “The Act of Reading the Romance: Escape and Instruction,” The Reader, 169-186.
- October 17: DuCille, “Toy Theory: Black Barbie and the Deep Play of Difference,” The Reader, 259-289.
Week 9: Adolescents and Consumerism
- October 20: Watch The Merchants of Cool
- October 22: Gladwell, “The Coolhunt,” The Reader, 360-374
- October 24: Review Blog Posts
Week 10: Environmentalism and Consumption (I)
- October 27: Rome, The Bulldozer in the Countryside, 1-44
- October 29: Rome, 45-118
- October 31: Rome, 119-188
Week 11: Environmentalism and Consumption (II)
- November 3: Rome, 189-220
- November 5: Rome, 221-270
- November 7: Review Blog Posts
Week 12: Hyper-Materialism
- November 10: Schor, The Overspent American, 1-65
- November 12: Schor, 66-174
- November 14: Visit Wal-Mart
Week 13: American Consumerism and Globalization
- November 17: Watch Wal-Mart: High Cost of Low Price
- November 19: Watch Wal-Mart: High Cost of Low Price
- November 21: Class discussion
Week 14: Thanksgiving
- November 24: Review Blog Posts
- November 26, & 28: no class
Week 15: The Future of Consumerism
- December 1: Duane Elgin, “Voluntary Simplicity and the New Global Challenge,” The Reader, 397-413.
- December 3: Review Blog Posts
- December 5: no class (Fall History Symposium)
Week 16: Finals Week
- December 12: Final essays are due between 3:30-6:00PM