@article{Wherry_2010, place={Washington DC: American Sociological Association.}, title={Sociology 495-1: Culture and Consumption}, url={https://trails.asanet.org/article/view/sociology-495-1-culture-and-consumption}, abstractNote={In this course we study why we desire the things we do and how consumption affects the identities and the inequalities among persons, places, and things. What are the social origins and orientations of consumption? The roots of one’s taste for hip-hop or baroque violin, the Vespa or the Hummer, beer or wine, Black Barbie and white Barbie are socially influenced rather than exclusively dependent on the individual. Students will explore such questions as: What does it mean to sell sex or to market ethnicity? Is fair trade possible in a materially unequal world? Why do some objects, serving the same function and made of the same materials, sell less well than others? Is it "simply" a matter of taste? If so, from where does taste come? What are the processes that generate equalities and differences in our tastes? If taste is not inborn but generated, what happens to the authenticity of local cultures and local practices in global markets? Nestled between the fields of economic sociology and the sociology of culture, the course should appeal to students interested in the Economy, Business, and Society sub-concentration. Though there are no formal pre-requisites, one introductory course in sociology, psychology, or anthropology is advisable.}, journal={TRAILS: Teaching Resources and Innovations Library for Sociology}, author={Wherry, Frederick}, year={2010}, month={Apr.} }