Final Project

The goal of this assignment is for you to complete your own unit on consumerism. They say, the best way to learn about something is to teach it to others. So, I want you to choose texts and devise assessments to teach me about consumerism. No, you don’t have to write a lecture. Just complete the following.

In a word document, list the entries you would choose to complete this unit by following these instructions.

• Discover one video from YouTube, Vimeo, or Kanopy that uncovers the strategies, tricks, techniques, or insider secrets that are used to manipulate buyers into wanting a $200 T-shirt or a $500 wallet or another high-priced good. This isn’t a video that showcases goods or a simple advertisement. You will find a video that seeks to reveal specific industry tactics that professionals know will get smart, educated people to spend money unwisely.
  • Provide a link to that video, as well as the title and author/editor of the video.
  • Provide a brief, 5-sentence summary of the video and why you think it is so powerful.
• Select two reputable written sources that answer this question: Why do people want name-brand goods when others are, presumably, just as good – if not better? Schor and Klein approach this question, but what are more contemporary answers to this question. These should be peer-reviewed articles or other reliable sources of information.
  • Find two provocative readings using search terms
    • “fascination” or “desire” or “interest”
    • “Branding” or “brand”
    • “streetwear” or “name-brand”
  • Provide a full MLA citation AND a 5-sentence summary for each of the two sources you find.
• Find a work of art that describes the effects of consumerism. It can be positive or negative. Copy and paste an image of that artwork into your Word document.
  • Write a short analysis of the work of art you have chosen. How does the image, painting, photograph, or statue engage the topic of consumerism and what does it communicate to its audience.
• Write one multiple choice quiz (5 questions total) on your two readings, the artwork, and the video you’ve chosen.
  • Provide the answers for this quiz.
• Compose a discussion post forum prompt (like the ones I write for you to respond to) that gets students to talk about how they can rethink their relationship to status through brands. Your prompt should be at least as comprehensive and creative as the prompts I’ve provided this semester. It shouldn’t be an easy prompt to answer. It should make me think.
• Create an assignment that asks students to engage peers socially – interviews, Snapchat, etc. – to learn more about why they like what they like and how this relates to the readings and video they found. The purpose of this assignment is to make interviewers and those interviewed look how they can live better without spending money unnecessarily. Look to my assignments this term as a model for this part of your assignment.