SCH-20306 Gender, Culture, Consumers and Markets: Critical Historical and Sociocultural Feminist Perspectives

Course

Credits 6.00

Language of instruction:

English

Expected knowledge on:

The course is optional; there are no admission criteria.

Contents:

The interrelationship between culture, identity and merchandise has become one of interdependence. How individuals, in any given social group, see themselves and how they are viewed and treated by others is in part linked to media images, of which advertising plays an important role. The course examines the marketing of products, ideals and ideas, and the relationship to social hierarchy (gender, race, ethnicity, wealth) as linked to societal roles, consumer and other behaviour, and identity. The course compares Western, non-Western, and rural and urban contexts and settings. Forms of resistance within and against consumer culture are also examined. For the analytical frameworks the course draws on feminist and gender studies in consumer sciences, communication sciences, marketing, social history and anthropology.

Aims:

The objectives of the course are to build student knowledge and critical thinking on the contemporary role that advertising and other selected media play in shaping not only consumption but also the building of social identity. The learning goals are:
- gain in-depth knowledge of the relationship between advertising and the construction of gender, racial and ethnic minorities identities;
- gain knowledge on the historic antecedents of contemporary social issues in marketing to consumers;
- learn to identify the intersection of gender, class, race and ethnicity as social constructs;
- gain skills for critical analysis of the role of media, particularly advertising, on social attitudes and behavior in relation to issues of equality and social justice;
- broaden interdisciplinary knowledge of conceptual and analytical frameworks in social analysis.

Activities:

Lectures, class discussion, weekly student work groups and student presentations. The course will be highly interactive.

Examination:

Final written examination and presentations.

Literature:

The compulsory literature will be listed in the studiewijzer. Students interested in following the course should contact the co-ordinator.