Teaching about Consumption: The "Not Buying It" Project

    Authors

    L. Grauerholz;A. Bubriski-McKenzie

    Comments

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    Abbreviated Journal Title

    Teach. Sociol.

    Keywords

    consumption; experiential learning; Introduction to Sociology; SOCIOLOGICAL IMAGINATION; Education & Educational Research; Sociology

    Abstract

    This study presents an experiential exercise designed to heighten students' awareness of overconsumption in the United States and allow them to see how their own consumption habits are linked to larger social factors. Students engaged in the "Not Buying It" project-which involved refraining from purchasing all but essentials for a set number of days-as part of a broader lesson on consumerism. Qualitative and quantitative data, gathered from students enrolled in three sections of Introductory Sociology, suggest that the exercise was effective in enhancing students' sociological imaginations by helping students see how their own consumption habits are shaped by larger social forces and how they, along with most Americans, tend toward overconsumption. To a more limited extent, it may help enhance cognitive understanding of consumption. Teaching about consumption in general, and the Not Buying It project in particular, offers instructors an excellent pedagogical means by which students can acquire a sociological imagination, reinforces key sociological principles, and links to broader goals within the discipline.

    Journal Title

    Teaching Sociology

    Volume

    40

    Issue/Number

    4

    Publication Date

    1-1-2012

    Document Type

    Article

    Language

    English

    First Page

    332

    Last Page

    348

    WOS Identifier

    WOS:000309282100003

    ISSN

    0092-055X

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