SOCY1714

Consumer Culture: Past, Present, and Sustainable Futures

This is a Complex Problem course and is open to FRESHMEN only. You must take both SOCY1714 and HIST1717. Although we are increasingly aware that our habits of consumption affect the environment, it is hard to imagine that consuming patterns can be changed. In this course, students will learn that practices of consumption are both socially and historically constructed, that they change dramatically over time, and that there are (and always have been) urgent moral issues connected to these ways of life. We will explore the global, social, and environmental dimensions of consumption, studying things like the 1897 Sears catalog, 1950s television shows, Canada Goose jackets, DIY manuals and makerspaces, and hippy cookbooks of the 1960s.

Course overview

Department
Sociology
School
MCAS
Credits
0

Requirements fulfilled

  • University Core: Social Science (All undergraduates)

Requirement eligibility can vary by school, cohort, and section. Confirm the selected section in EagleApps or with an advisor.

Official evaluation summary

4.45 / 5

Based on 104 aggregate responses from BC Avalanche/Blue evaluations.

Data freshness

Course and evaluation data last updated 2026-07-23. Source details and limitations are documented in Data Sources and Methodology.

Instructors

  • Ethan Tupelo
    Fall 2026, Spring 2025 · Official rating 4.24/5
  • Juliet Schor
    Fall 2026, Spring 2025 · Official rating 4.47/5

Sections

  • Section 01
    Fall 2026 · Juliet Schor · Stokes Hall 195S MWF 11:00AM-11:50AM · Offered
  • Section 02
    Fall 2026 · Ethan Tupelo · Stokes Hall 105S Tu 03:00PM-04:15PM · Offered
  • Section 03
    Fall 2026 · Ethan Tupelo · Stokes Hall 105S Tu 04:30PM-05:45PM · Offered
  • Section 04
    Fall 2026 · Ethan Tupelo · Stokes Hall 105S Th 03:00PM-04:15PM · Offered
  • Section 05
    Fall 2026 · Ethan Tupelo · Stokes Hall 105S Th 04:30PM-05:45PM · Offered
  • Section 06
    Fall 2026 · Juliet Schor · Stokes Hall 195S W 06:00PM-07:50PM · Offered