Paper Assignments

Paper #1

Compare and contrast Dreiser's and Lewis's views on consumer culture. Keep these questions in mind: What does each author think about consumer society? What is different if anything in their assessment of consumption and why? What is the same and why? What in their fictional accounts does or does not reflect reality? What historical circumstances and moral judgements inform their views?

Paper #2

In 1961, critic Lewis Mumford expressed dismay about new developments in America:

In the mass movement into suburban areas a new kind of community was produced, which caricatured both the historic city and the archetypal suburban refuge: a multitude of uniform, unidentifiable houses, lined up inflexibly, at uniform distances, on uniform roads, in a treeless communal waste, inhabited by people of the same class, the same income, the same age group, witnessing the same television performances, eating the same tasteless pre-fabricated foods, from the same freezers, conforming in every outward and inward respect to a common mold, manufactured in the central metropolis. Thus, the ultimate effect of the suburban escape in our own time is, ironically, a low-grade uniform environment from which escape is impossible.

To what extent did Mumford's description accurately reflect American society? In other words, did postwar consumption result in a homogenous, content, and conformist society? Write a five-page paper making sure to refer to specific historical facts and examples.


Document Collection Assignments

Document Collection #1

The Rise of Brand Names--gather primary evidence from sources such as advertisements, magazine or newspaper articles, testimony from congressional hearings, or store catalogues that documents the mass distribution of name-brand goods.

Bring 3 documents to class during Week #4 along with a 2-3 page analysis of the documents. Be prepared to share these with the class. It is your job to be creative in gathering the documents and decoding their significance.

Document Collection #2

The Impact of Advertising--gather primary evidence from sources such as advertisements, magazine or newspaper articles, and testimony from congressional hearings that documents the impact of advertising on American culture. How did advertising work? Think about that question from both the advertiser's and consumer's perspectives.

Bring 3 documents to class during Week #7 along with a 2-3 page analysis of the documents. Be prepared to share these with the class. It is your job to be creative in gathering the documents and decoding their significance. Try to relate your observations to the world portrayed in Babbitt.


Book Review Assignments

Book Review #1

Write a 3-4 page book review of Status Seekers. Summarize Packard's main argument and offer an overall critique of the book. Is the book good or bad or both and why? Be sure to consider such things as methodology, sources, evidence, strengths, and weaknesses. Use examples to support your argument.

(Note: You have to do only one book review. If you do not write one about Status Seekers, then you will write one about Bobos.)

Book Review #2

Write a 3-4 page book review of Bobos in Paradise. Summarize Brooks's main argument and offer an overall critique of the book. Is the book good or bad or both and why? Be sure to consider such things as methodology, sources, evidence, strengths, and weaknesses. Use examples to support your argument.

(Note: You have to do only one book review. If you wrote one about Status Seekers, then you do not have to write one about Bobos, and vice versa.)


In-class Assignments

Your Holiday Shopping (PDF)
Bobos in Paradise (PDF)