Essay #3: Consumerism

Skills: Using counterarguments
Website analysis/evaluation
Incorporating multiple sources

The Set-Up: Our readings for this section will focus on consumerism and how it affects sustainability initiatives. The accumulation of possessions is certainly an aspect of the American Dream, however, an endless appetite for material goods can throw a wrench into solutions for sustainability. In presenting arguments, each writer we will read will also address the counterargument. This is a good technique to adopt in your own writing. In speculating and writing about these issues, it’s usually a useful idea to bring out both the good and the bad aspects of a solution, though one will probably get greater emphasis.

Prompt: Essay 3 asks you to engage with two* of our readings for this unit, and then combine information from those sources with your own ideas to coherently and logically develop a thesis.

You may write about the essays directly, analyzing how the authors interpret similar data differently and/or employ different emphases to suit their purposes. Or, you may write about a related topic concerning consumerism and sustainability and use the two readings as support.

In addition, you are asked to use one website and one scholarly source in your paper as further support. You must also address one or more counterarguments to your thesis in your paper.

Questions to Consider: How does consumerism affect specific sustainability initiatives? How might consumerism be put to good use in regards to the environment? How have the realms of business and sustainability begun to overlap in contemporary U.S. culture? What do popular purchases reflect about contemporary culture? How has shopping online capitalized on an atmosphere that encourages ill-considered purchases? How is technology use linked to consumerism?

Example topics: You might compare the ritual detachment from one’s “stuff” at Yom Kippur (from Rabbi Schnur’s “Barbie Does Yom Kippur”) with George Carlin’s observations in “A Place for Your Stuff” in order to make a point about the wastefulness of American culture.
OR

You might think about the ways that a business like BP, for example, has made efforts to “go green” and use “Dirt: A Social History” by Terence McLaughlin and Richard Simon’s “The Shopping Mall and the Formal Garden” to argue that business and sustainability are two fields that can go hand in hand.

Criteria: You will need to search electronic databases for at least one scholarly source related to your topic, and scour the internet for a website that is also related to your topic. The website you choose should fit the criteria for a good source we learned about in class and in the library. Your paper will also need to refer to two of the pieces we read for class. Hence, your works cited page will have a minimum of 4 sources on it (2 from our readings, 1 website, and 1 scholarly source).

You should use MLA style, and Times Roman or Courier 12 pt font. The paper should be 6-7 pages when double-spaced. You must have a proper Works Cited page. A rough draft should be ready for Wednesday March 26th FOR SECTION 056 and Friday, March 28th FOR SECTION 092, and a final draft is due Friday, April 4th FOR BOTH SECTIONS.

*NOTE: While we will go over three specific readings in class, you should take the time to read all of the essays on the topic of consumerism we’ve collected for you. These will be made available to you as soon as possible.