COMMODIFICATION AND CONSUMERISM IN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE:
SEX, RUGS, SALT, AND COAL
History 4261 (also American Studies 4261), FALL 2009
Tuesday, 2:30-4:25, Uris Hall 302
Aaron Sachs (as475@cornell.edu)
Phone: (o) 607-255-1978; (h) 607-273-0203 (please call before 10pm)
Office Hours: McGraw 350, Mon. 2:30-4:30, and by appointment.
Everything is for sale today—but has it always been? We’ll look at the history of various commodities to explore the changing cultural and environmental
impacts of market forces. Why are “oriental” rugs collector’s items? How did we come to keep salt shakers on our dinner tables? When did coal start
replacing wood as a fuel source? This course will cross multiple boundaries of time and space as it examines both case studies and broader theoretical
perspectives, allowing us to draw connections between our culture of consumption and the social forces wrapped up in production. How was the taste for
sugar linked to the slave trade? Is prostitution really “the oldest profession”? What goes into your daily cup of coffee besides half and half? And what was
western society like before
everything had a price?
This line of analysis may
lead to even deeper cultural and psychological questions. What does it mean to live in a society so
shaped by consumerism? Where
do our
desires for commodities come from? To
what extent is one’s identity defined by commodities? Is our consumption of commodities in the 21st
century a perfectly normal, natural development, or a disease raging out of
control? Are we happy with this state of
Things?
Requirements: All readings
listed on the syllabus; Active participation in all discussions; Attendance at
all screenings on the syllabus; All papers listed on
the syllabus; One oral
presentation and class hand-out, on the day you’ll be leading our discussion
(probably with one other person). Please
contact me
immediately (in advance, whenever possible) about any sessions you
have to miss. You can make up the work
from a missed session by turning in a 2-page
response paper to the day’s
readings within one week of your absence.
These should be analytical essays and NOT simple summaries. You can also make
up your absence if you miss
a screening by watching the film on your own and turning in a two-page paper
within one week.
Grading: This is a reading-
and writing-intensive course. They key
to its success is your active engagement and participation, and your grades
will be
determined accordingly.
The class presentations and
handouts are ungraded, but they will factor into your overall participation
grade, which determines 30% of your final grade;
paper #1 is worth 15% of your
grade; paper #2 is worth 20%; and the final paper is worth 35%. The outline for your final paper will be
ungraded, but you
will receive comments on it, and it will factor into the
grade for your final paper. Please
understand: regardless of these percentages, it is impossible to pass
this
course without turning in all the required assignments. In other words, it is not acceptable to skip
a paper and simply take a “zero” on it.
Out of fairness
to everyone in the class, you must complete all the
papers (even if they’re late), or you will receive a failing grade for the
semester. Also, any case of
plagiarism
will automatically receive a failing grade and may result in a failing grade
for the entire semester.
The requirements explained further:
Leading Discussion/Class Hand-out: For weeks five through twelve,
one or two students will be responsible for starting off our classroom
discussion. (I’ll
be the leader the
other sessions.) The idea is to be
especially thorough in your preparation for class; this should include at least
a little bit of background/
contextual research on your part. You should try to come up with specific ideas
about what you think we should get out of our discussion of the book in
question. If you’re paired with someone,
the two of you will be expected to collaborate.
Each person should speak for ONLY about 5 minutes, laying out
the key
themes and asking questions meant to spark conversation. But then you’ll lead the discussion for the
next several minutes. If you’re
presenting on
your own, your hand-out should be limited to one page. If you’re presenting as a pair, your hand-out
should be limited to two pages. Each
presenter or pair
of presenters should meet with me during the week before
you’re scheduled to present (usually during my office hours the day before
class).
Papers: Each will have its own assignment sheet and/or be discussed
in class. Paper #1 will be 5-6 pages;
Paper #2 will be 6-7 pages. In fairness
to the
class as a whole, please don’t request extensions except under extreme
circumstances. Late papers will be
marked down by half a grade for every day
they’re late. NOTE: it is sometimes possible to rewrite
papers, but you must discuss it with me to get approval within a week of when
the paper in question
was handed back.
Final Research Paper (15-20 pages): This paper may jump off from
the class readings, but will have to entail significant outside research. You’ll have a
meeting with me to discuss
possible topics within two weeks of receiving the assignment sheet.
WEEKLY TOPICS AND ASSIGNMENTS
Week One. Tuesday, September 1st. Introduction.
NOTE: OPTIONAL EVENT, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 3RD, 4:30PM, AT
THE ILR CONFERENCE CENTER, ROOM 423:
“Commercialization of Intimate Life,”
a talk by Arlie Hochschild, Prof. of Sociology at U. California Berkeley.
UNIT ONE: WORLD HISTORY, VIA KEY COMMODITIES (WEEKS 2-5)
--Harry Caudill, Night Comes to the Cumberlands
Required: Ch. 6-16 and 19-20, plus postscript and afterword
Recommended: entire book
Tuesday, September 15th.
Consumption: Coal Around the World.
--Barbara Freese, Coal: A Human History (entire)
SCREENING: WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16TH, 7PM, MCGRAW 215: A film about the commodification of water (I’m still choosing which one).
Tuesday, September 22nd.
Theories of Commodification and Consumption.
--Marshall Sahlins, excerpt from Stone Age Economics (in course packet)
--Michael Schudson, “Delectable Materialism: Second Thoughts on Consumer Culture” (packet)
--Igor Kopytoff, “The Cultural Biography of Things: Commoditization as Process” (packet)
--Lewis Hyde, excerpts from The Gift: Imagination and the Erotic Life of Property (packet)
--Assignment for Paper #1 handed out in class.
Tuesday, September 29th. CLASS IS POSTPONED UNTIL THE NEXT EVENING, AT
7PM, WHEN WE WILL MEET IN MCGRAW 215
FOR A REGULAR SEMINAR SESSION:
Wednesday, September 30th, 7pm. Sugar: The Price of Luxury?
--Sidney Mintz, Sweetness and Power: The Place of Sugar in Modern History (entire)
Paper #1 is due on Friday,
October 2nd, in my office (McGraw 350) or my mailbox (in McGraw 451)
by 4pm.
Week Six.
Tuesday, October 6th. Slaves in the Colonial Period.
--Toni Morrison, A Mercy (entire)
Tuesday, October 13th.
NO CLASS: HAPPY FALL BREAK!
Tuesday, October 20th. Land in the Early Republic
--Andro Linklater, Measuring America (entire).
--Assignment for Paper #2 handed out in class.
Tuesday, October 27th. The Dawning of Modern Consumerism.
--William Leach, Land of Desire: Merchants, Power, and the Rise of a New American Culture, Introduction and Ch. 1-8 (pp. 3-260)
Paper #2 is due on Friday,
October 30th, in my office (McGraw 350) or my mailbox (in McGraw
451) by 4pm.
Tuesday, November 3rd. Biological Necessity, Authenticity, and
Corporate Complicity.
--excerpts from Mark Kurlansky, Salt: A World History (packet)
--Brian Spooner, “Weavers and Dealers: The Authenticity of an Oriental Carpet” (packet)
--David Howes, “Cultural Appropriation and Resistance in the American Southwest: Decommodifying ‘Indianness’” (packet)
--excerpt from Derek Bok, Universities in the Marketplace: The Commercialization of Higher Education (packet)
--Final Paper Assignment handed out in class.
Tuesday, November 10th.
Sex.
--Elizabeth Bernstein, Temporarily Yours (entire)
Conferences this week
to discuss final paper topics.
SCREENING: WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11TH, 7PM, MCGRAW 215: A
film about the commodification of intimacy or about the political
economy of
consumerism (I’m still deciding among several options).
Tuesday, November 17th.
The Environmental Context: Questions of Simplicity and Style.
-- Henry David Thoreau, Walden, Ch. 1-2 (pp. 1-93)
-- Christie Matheson, Green Chic (read enough to get a general sense)
Outline (ungraded) for final
paper due on Thursday, November 19th, in my office (McGraw 350) or
my mailbox (in McGraw 451) by 4pm.
Tuesday, November 24th.
How American Consumerism Developed in the 20th Century.
--Gary Cross, An All-Consuming Century: Why Commercialism Won in Modern America (entire)
Week Fourteen.
Tuesday, December 1st.
The Commodification of Nutrition.
--Michael Pollan, In Defense of Food (entire)
LIST OF BOOKS TO PURCHASE
As you know if
you pre-enrolled for this course, I've ordered all of the books NOT at the
Cornell Store but rather at Ithaca's only independent bookstore,
Buffalo Street
Books, formerly known as The Bookery 2. Store
details:
Hours: Mon–Sat
10-8, Sun 11-6. Address: DeWitt Mall, 215
N. Cayuga (in downtown Ithaca)
Email: buffalostreetbooks@hotmail.com. Phone: (607) 273-8246
The books are all
in stock at the store, and you are welcome to shop there whenever you'd like. (Some of you have already ordered your books
and will be
receiving them at the first session of the course.) The complete list of books for the course,
with prices, is below.
Note that dates below refer to
the particular edition of the book
we’ll be using and not necessarily the original publication date. Used copies are fine, but
please try to get
the right edition, since we’ll be referring to the text fairly frequently in
class. The first book
required for the course is the first one listed, by
Caudill, and it’s not that
easy to find—we’ll be discussing it next week, on Tuesday, September 8th, so
please be sure you have SOME way of acquiring it
as soon as possible. All of these books are also on 2-hour
reserve at Uris Library. Whenever possible, please bring the actual
book to class when we
are scheduled to discuss it. If you read a book on reserve, then please
bring notes with you to class.
--Harry Caudill, Night Comes to the Cumberlands (Jesse Stuart Foundation, 2001), $17
--Barbara Freese, Coal: A Human History (Penguin, 2004), $14
--Sidney Mintz, Sweetness and Power: The Place of Sugar in Modern History (Penguin, 1986), $16
--Toni Morrison, A Mercy (Vintage, 2009), $15
--Andro Linklater, Measuring America: How the United States Was Shaped by the Greatest Land Sale in History (Plume, 2003), $16
--William Leach, Land of Desire: Merchants, Power, and the Rise of a New American Culture (Vintage, 1994), $18.95
--Elizabeth Bernstein, Temporarily Yours: Intimacy, Authenticity, and the Commerce of Sex (U. Chicago Press, 2007), $24
--Henry David Thoreau, Walden (Beacon Press, 2004)—intro by Bill McKibben, $10.95
--Christie Matheson, Green Chic: Saving the Earth in Style (Sourcebooks, 2008), $12.95
--Gary Cross, An All-Consuming Century: Why Commercialism Won in Modern America (Columbia U. Press, 2000), $24
--Michael Pollan, In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto (Penguin, 2008), $15
PLEASE PURCHASE THE XEROX PACKET FOR THIS COURSE AT KC COPIES IN
COLLEGETOWN, AT 118 DRYDEN RD., JUST
BELOW THE INTERSECTION WITH COLLEGE
AVE. It costs $30. Whenever we will be discussing a reading from
the packet, please
bring it to class.