Consumption, Markets and Culture
Module description
Summary:
This module will equip future marketing practitioners with the skills and knowledge to understand the interactions that occur between the market, consumers and the marketplace. The focus of this module centres on cultural approaches to understanding and we will explore the dynamics associated with the symbolic production and consumption of culture. Working with popular texts such as The McDonaldization of Society by George Ritzer as well as with complex theoretical concepts including Consumer Culture Theory, Symbolic Consumption and the Production of Culture, this module will provide students with an intellectually and historically grounded ability to understand the broader socio-cultural issues relevant to marketing practice in the 21st century.
Additional Information:
Internationalisation:
The module draws on the work of international scholars and looks at the context of consumption in the context of globalization.
Sustainability:
A key consideration to consumption practices is the notion of sustainability. In this course we will consider the ethics surrounding consumption practices and its relationship to sustainable environments.
Employability:
This module helps students understand how organisations use data and what this means in different aspects of companies, (such as advertising, supply chain, and budgets) and how this relates to specific job titles.
Full module specification
| Module title: | Consumption, Markets and Culture |
|---|---|
| Module code: | BEMM164 |
| Module level: | M |
| Academic year: | 2018/9 |
| Module lecturers: |
|
| Module credit: | 15 |
| ECTS value: | 7.5 |
| Pre-requisites: | None |
| Co-requisites: | None |
| Duration of module: |
Duration (weeks) - term 1: 11 |
Module aims
This module will equip future marketing practitioners with the skills and knowledge to understand the interactions that occur between the market, consumers and the marketplace. The focus of this module centres on cultural approaches to understanding and we will explore the dynamics associated with the symbolic production and consumption of culture. Working with popular texts such as The McDonaldization of Society by George Ritzer as well as with complex theoretical concepts including Consumer Culture Theory, Symbolic Consumption and the Production of Culture, this module will provide students with an intellectually and historically grounded ability to understand the broader socio-cultural issues relevant to marketing practice in the 21st century.
ILO: Module-specific skills
- 1. have an understanding of marketing not just as a management practice but also as highly influential and intersecting with political, economic, technological and societal issues
- 2. devise, sustain and justify arguments relating to broader social issues relevant to marketing practice
- 3. have a clear grasp of a wide range of literature, theoretical debates, and methodological practices associated with consumption, markets and culture
- 4. recognise the significance of particular theoretical and/or practical strands within recent marketing research
ILO: Discipline-specific skills
- 5. bring original ideas, and make some novel links between academic literature of a wide variety of forms and traditions
- 6. relate theories to specific case studies, research data, literature bases and also to mainstream political, cultural and popular discourse
- 7. sketch relatively large academic debates with clarity and coherence
ILO: Personal and key skills
- 8. have the practical ability to analyse, communicate and present ideas, theories and principles
- 9. work in cross-cultural teams
- 10. have the initiative and ability to make connections and synthesise ideas and issues from a much larger body of work
- 11. develop independent/self-directed learning skills, including time management, working to deadlines, and keeping abreast of a wide range of literature
Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 36 | 114 | 0 |
Details of learning activities and teaching methods
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled learning and teaching activities | 24 | Lectures |
| Guided independent study | 114 | Reading, researching and writing assignments |
| Tutorials | 12 | Student Lead Seminars |
Formative assessment
| Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Group Assignment: In-Class Chapter Review: Groups of 6 people will be responsible for leading in-class discussion on the days topic for discussion | A ten minute topic introduction followed by in-class discussion | 1-11 | In-class Verbal Feedback |
Summative assessment (% of credit)
| Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
|---|---|---|
| 80 | 0 | 20 |
Details of summative assessment
| Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Written paper | 80 | 3,500 words | 1-8, 10-11 | Written feedback |
| Group presentation in groups of 6 students | 20 | 20 minutes | ILOs 8-9 | Written feedback |
| 0 | ||||
| 0 | ||||
| 0 | ||||
| 0 |
Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)
| Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Written paper | A resubmission of the Written Paper Incorporating the feedback received from the first submission | 1-8, 10-11 |
Syllabus plan
The following subjects will be taught throughout the course of the term:
• Week One: Introduction; What is Culture?
• Week Two: CCT Theory and Cultural Approaches in Marketing; Group Formation
• Week Three: Cultural Perspectives in Marketing
• Week Four: Ethnography and Ethnographic Research
• Week Five: Gender and Discourse Analysis
• Week Six: Marketers as Cultural Producers
• Week Seven: Ethics and Visual Representation
• Week Eight: The McDonaldizaton of Society; Group Presentations
• Week Nine: The McDonaldization of Society; Group Presentations
• Week Ten: Subliminal Advertising; Group Presentations
• Week Eleven: Netnography, Identity, Authenticity, and Music; Group
Presentations
• Week Twelve: Conclusion; Group Presentations
Indicative learning resources - Basic reading
Potential texts include:
• Arnould, Eric J., Craig J. Thompson (2005). Consumer Culture Theory (CCT): Twenty Years of Research, Journal of Consumer Research, 31, 868-882.
• Arnould, E. J. & Price, L. L. (1993). River Magic: Extraordinary Experience and the Extended Service Encounter. Journal of Consumer Research, 20(1): 24-46.
• Arnould, Eric J. and Melanie Wallendorf (1994)."Market-Oriented Ethnography: Interpretation Building and Marketing Strategy Formulation, Journal of Marketing Research, 31 (4), 484-504.
• Belk, Russel (ed.), (2006). Handbook of Qualitative Research Methods in Marketing. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing, Ltd. ISBN: 1847209580
• Bengtsson, Anders, Jacob Ostberg, Dannie Kjeldgaard (2005). Prisoners in Paradise: Subcultural Resistance to the Marketization of Tattooing. Consumption Markets and Culture, 8(3): 261-274.
• Berger, John (1990). Ways of Seeing. London: Penguin Books. ISBN: 0140135154.
• Borgerson, J. L. and Schroeder, J. E. (2003) The Lure of Paradise: Marketing the Ultimate Consumer Experience, in Time, Space and Place: the Rise of Retroscapes, S. Brown and J. F. Sherry (eds.), New York: M.E. Sharpe, 219-237.
• Brown, S., Kozinets, R.V., Sherry, J.F. (2003), Teaching old brands new tricks: retro branding and the revival of brand meaning, Journal of Marketing, 67(3): 19-33.
• Dandaneau, Steven, Robin Dodsworth, (2008). A Consuming Passion: An Interview with George Ritzer. Consumption Markets and Culture, 11(3): 191-201.
• Drewett, Michael (2008), Developing a Retro Brand Community: Re-releasing and marketing antiapartheid protest music in post-apartheid South Africa. Consumption Markets and Culture, 11(4): 287-305.
• Gayá-Wicks, Patricia, Anges Nairn, Christine Griffin, (2007). The Role of Commodified Celebrities in Children’s Moral Development: The Case of David Beckham. Consumption Markets and Culture, 10(4): 401-424.
• Kozinets, R.V. (2002). Can Consumers Escape the Market? Emancipatory Illuminations from Burning Man. Journal of Consumer Research. 29(1), 20-38.
• McCracken, G. (1986). Culture and Consumption: A Theoretical Account of the Structure: A Theoretical Account of the Structure and Movement of the Cultural Meaning of Consumer Goods. Journal of Consumer Research, 13(1): 71-84.
• Peñaloza, Lisa (2000). The Commodification of the American West: Marketers' Production of Cultural Meanings at the Trade Show, Journal of Marketing, 64 (4), 82-109.
• Peñaloza, L. (2001). Consuming the American West: Animating Cultural Meaning and Memory at a Stock Show and Rodeo. Journal of Consumer Research, 28(3): 82-109
• Ritzer, George (2008). The McDonaldization of Society (5). Thousand Oaks: Pine Forge Press. ISBN: 1412954304
• Samuel, B. (2009). "Colonial images in Global Times: Consumer Interpretations of Africa and Africans in Advertising." Consumption, Markets and Culture, 12(1): 1-25.
• Schlosser, Eric (2002). Fast Food Nation: What the All-American Meal Is Doing to the World. London: Penguin. ISBN: 0141006870
• Schouten, J. W. & McAlexander, J. H. (1995). Subcultures of Consumption: An Ethnography of the New Bikers. Journal of Consumer Research, 22(1): 43-62.
• Schroeder, J. E. (2002). Visual Consumption. London Routledge.
• Schroeder, J. E. (2006). Critical Visual Analysis. In R. W. Belk (Ed.), Handbook of Qualitative Research Methods in Marketing. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar.
• Schroder, J. E. (2006). Aesthetics Awry: The Painter of LightTM and the Commodification of Artistic Values. Consumption, Markets and Culture, 9(2): 87-99.
Module has an active ELE page?
Yes
Origin date
17/07/2014
Last revision date
17/07/2014