HIST 327 History of American Consumer Culture

Examines the development of consumer society in the United States and its relationship to economics, politics, and culture. Paying attention to the dynamics of race, class, and gender, this course explores the experiences of ordinary Americans as they have embraced, shaped, and resisted materialism in their lives. Possible topics include the rise of department and chain stores, advertising, mass-production, the leisure industry, suburbanization, consumer boycotts, and globalization.