SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATION

CMNS 223-3

ADVERTISING AS SOCIAL COMMUNICATION

Prerequisite:

CMNS 110 or 130.

Course Description:

This course is an introduction to the study of advertising as social communication. Over the semester we will examine advertising as both an economic strategy and an ideological practice.
The key objective of the course is to provide a historical perspective on advertising’s role in the emergence of and perpetuation of ‘consumer culture.’ We will examine the strategies historically employed to promote the circulation of goods as well as the impact of advertising on the creation of new habits and expectations in everyday life. We will consider the ways in which advertising mirrors and shapes a variety of social phenomena, such as desire and the family.

Topics to be considered will include: arguments for and against advertising; questions of cultural distinction through consumption; advertising in relation to the history of visual culture; the relationship between advertising and the media; subcultural consumption; and the problem of ethical consumption. Weekly topics will be explored more fully in a series of short papers.

Lectures, readings, and tutorials are complementary aspects of the course. Students are expected to keep up with readings and attend lectures and tutorials regularly.

Required Reading:

John Berger, Ways of Seeing. London: Penguin, 1972.
Stuart Ewen, Captains of Consciousness. NY: Harper Collins, 2001
Juliet B. Schor & Douglas B. Holt, eds. The Consumer Society Reader. NY: New Press, 2000.

Reading package

Assignments and evaluation:

Short paper #1 (due Jan. 31) 10%
Short paper #2 (due Feb. 28) 20%
Short paper #3 (due March 28) 25%
Final exam (during exam period) 30%
Tutorial participation 10%
Tutorial presentation 5%

The school expects that the grades awarded in this course will bear some reasonable relation to established university-wide practices with respect to both levels and distribution of grades. In addition, the School will follow Policy T10.02 with respect to “Intellectual Honesty” and “Academic Discipline” (see the current Calendar, General Regulations section).