HST-140 Empire of Our Things: How We Became Consumers
Though we come from different walks of life and pursue different careers, we are all consumers. Today, an average American purchases more than 60 garments and discards about 70 pounds of textiles in landfills each year. There are also iPhones, lotions, baseball bats, appliances, cars, furniture, and everything else that stuffs our closet, garage and basement. This class explores the past 500 years history of consumption and asks how human beings evolved from an owners of a few items, often passed down by previous generations, to being rulers of an empire of things. We will investigate how economic, cultural, and political forces have shaped our relationships with "things" and how our consumption remakes our identity, culture, politics, and economy. In so doing, the course provides students an opportunity to reflect on the things that make us and on what we should make for a sustainable future.