Sociology of Consumption and Corporate Culture

Training objectives of the course

After passing the exam, the student should:
• be familiar with the main theories about consumption and therefore should be able to detect the ways in which our identities, opinions and tastes are created by and reflected in consumer culture
• have developed analytical abilities for understanding the complexity of relationships between consumers and society as well as between companies and consumers.

Course programme

The main content of the course, in line with the course objectives described above, is the analysis of the evolution of consumer society underlying the social and cultural meaning of consumption.
The content will be organized as follows:
- overview of the sociological theories, perspectives and research on consumer culture;
- main topics related to the sociology of consumption, such as the subcultures and the art of appropriation, stores as cathedrals of consumption, spectacular consumption, the sociological identity of the consumer, Globalization, McDonaldization and Disneyization, and the digitalization of experiences.

Didactic Methods

In line with the course objectives, the course involves:
• lectures
• presentation of case studies
• guest speakers
• participation in a team project in which students have to use social research methods to investigate the world of consumption with a socio-cultural approach (netnographic analysis applied to the study of online communities).
The course will use an online community to share information and materials.

Learning assessment procedures

For students attending the classes, the examination method consists of:
- a written multiple-choice exam made of 30 questions with 3 possible answers to choose from. The aim is to test the student's understanding of the course's main subjects discussed during lectures;
- optional oral exam on request;
- group presentations of the team project by students who attended the course.
The final mark will be the sum of the written test (from 18 minimum passing grade to 30 maximum passing grade) and the team project from 1 to 3 bonus points.

For non-attending students, the exam is multiple-choice - as for the attending students - but they will also find the chapters of the book by Paterson that attending students are not required to study among their questions. Moreover, questions on chapter V of the book by Paterson which is also required reading, as indicated in the course program.

Students with specific learning disorders and with disabilities are invited to contact the head of the course to agree on the examination methods on the basis of their personal documentation prepared by the DiversaMENTE Office.

Reference Texts

For all students:
PATERSON M., Consumption and Everyday Life, Routledge, New York, 2nd edition, 2018, excluding chapters IV and V.

Other course material will be made available online on the course Community.

The exam program for attending students will remain valid for all the current academic year examination sessions.

Non-attending students should also study:
PATERSON M., Consumption and Everyday Life, Routledge, New York, 2nd edition, 2018, chapter V.