Theme Overview

How does fancy mustard relate to hip-hop? How might your taste in potato chips relate to your choice in winter coat? How does writing itself contribute to larger cultural conversations? This course will explore how our choices as consumers, creators, and writers are mediated by broader cultural forces such as foodways, fashion, music, advertisement, art, and social media. "Commodity culture" refers to what aspects of culture can be evaluated in terms of supposed "worth" or economic value. Here students will think critically, draft, take risks, and revise to present work that has been elevated to college-level writing and argumentation. Readings will explore a range of rigorous scholarship and multimedia texts -- whether it's the importance of cultural capital in college admissions, the role of social media in the rise of self-branding, recognizing accessibility in our known environment, Taylor Swift’s connection to “rainbow capitalism,” or the blurred line between high art and Instagram. As avid readers and writers, we will delve into the details of rhetorical context to approach both published media and our own essays as instances of cultural production. No prior knowledge of foodways, art history, or media studies is necessary for this course, but students are expected to develop a nuanced appreciation of how something as seemingly innocuous as cultural output intersects with larger structures of status, power, and social justice. 

"Power & Commodity Culture grapples with the way commodity culture works in our lives, sometimes transforming us--and our ideas--into commodities. Writing (that brilliant exploratory tool!) helps us discover the effect of these forces sand ways to reclaim meaning beyond the market." 

--Rachel Slaughter, Senior Lecturer in College Writing 

Sample Course Topics:

• The importance of cultural capital in college admissions
• The role of social media in the rise of self-branding
• Recognizing accessibility in our known environment
• Taylor Swift's connection to "rainbow capitalism"
• The blurred line between high art and Instagram

Sample Course Readings:

• Bordieu, Pierre. “The Forms of Capital.” Handbook of Theory and Research for the Sociology of Education, edited by Richardson, J. 1986, 241-58.
• Halnon, Karen Bettez. “Poor Chic: The Rational Consumption of Poverty.” Current Sociology, vol. 50, no. 40, July 2002. 501-516. https://doi-org.libproxy.wustl.edu/10.1177/0011392102050004002
• Hepburn, Sharon J. “In Patagonia (Clothing): A Complicated Greenness.” Fashion Theory: The Journal of Dress, Body & Culture, vol 17, no. 5, Nov. 2013, pp. 623-45. EBSCOhost, https://doi.org.libproxy.wustl.edu/10.2752/175174113X13718320331035
• Musser, Amber Jamila. “Specimen Days: Diversity, Labor, and the University.” Feminist Formations, vol. 27, no. 3, Winter 2015. 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1353/ff.2016.0006

Examples of Research Projects Pursued by Students in this Theme:

• "The Anti-Aging Epidemic: How the Continuous “Biomedicalization” of Female Aging through TikTok Incentivizes Cosmeceutical Purchases among Younger Women"
• "Gentrified: the Foodways of Neoliberal Urban Redevelopment in St. Louis"
• "Facemasks, Bath Bombs, and Essential Oils: The Commodification of Self-Care"
• "Across the Railroad Tracks: Segregation and Education Inequality in Cincinnati"
• "Energy Drink Consumption in U.S. College Students: Marketing Differences Based on Gender"

Examples of Creative Projects Pursued by Students in this Theme:

• Vy Nguyen, "Hands"
• Gage Fowlkes, "Pocket Money"

Scroll down for additional featured writing from students in this theme.