Unit information: Consumption, Consumer Culture and Sustainability in 2021/22

Unit name	Consumption, Consumer Culture and Sustainability
Unit code	SOCI30103
Credit points	20
Level of study	H/6
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12)
Unit director	Dr. Jessica Paddock
Open unit status	Not open
Pre-requisites	None
Co-requisites	None
School/department	School of Sociology, Politics and International Studies
Faculty	Faculty of Social Sciences and Law

Description including Unit Aims

The impact that growing levels of consumption in the Global North has upon the environment has sparked much scholarly debate, policy initiatives, and civil society action. This unit explores and unpacks a variety of perspectives that theorise consumption, consumer culture and their environmental consequences. Beginning with Critical and Green Marxist scholarship, Post-Colonial Social Theory, Material Culture, and Theories of Practice, the unit equips the student to critically reflect upon the ‘problem’ of consumption. The unit reflects upon the potential to realise societal transition towards more sustainable ways of living in the future, paying attention to empirical areas of ‘ordinary’ consumption; energy, transport, food, and clothing.

Aims:

• Introduce students to theoretical frameworks utilised in social scientific thinking about the relationship between consumption, consumer culture and the environment.
• Develop students’ understanding of relationship between the practice of everyday life, consumer culture, and environmental sustainability.
• Encourage students to think critically about the potential to realise more sustainable ways of living through consumer practice, as currently framed by market, policy and civil society discourses of ‘behaviour change’.

Intended Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of the unit, students will be able to:

1. Understand and explain a range of conceptual frameworks relevant to the sociology of consumption, the sociology of food, and environmental sociology.

2. Apply their understanding of these theoretical frameworks to explore the relationship between consumption and its social and environmental consequences.

3. Evaluate a range of conceptual positions and policy responses to environmental challenges in order to generate insights regarding the potential for societal transition towards more sustainable ways of living in the future.

Teaching Information

The unit will be taught through blended learning methods, including a mix of synchronous and asynchronous teaching activities

Assessment Information

Summative (25%): 1,500-word essay (tests ILO1)

Summative (75%): 3,000-word essay (tests ILOs 2 & 3)

Resources

If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.

If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. SOCI30103).

How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks, independent learning and assessment activity.

See the Faculty workload statement relating to this unit for more information.

Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit. The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. If you have self-certificated your absence from an assessment, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (this is usually in the next assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any extenuating circumstances and operates within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.