HR929-7-AU-CO:
The Making of Consumer Culture: Britain 1780-1960
2025/26
Philosophical, Historical, and Interdisciplinary Studies (School of)
Colchester Campus
Autumn
Postgraduate: Level 7
Current
Thursday 02 October 2025
Friday 12 December 2025
20
24 April 2025
Requisites for this module
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)
Until very recently the social history of consumption was virtually ignored by professional historians. It was only during the 1980s - a decade which witnessed the celebration and deification of the consumer - that this subject began to attract serious scholarly attention.
Adopting an interdisciplinary approach and employing a variety of primary as well as secondary source material (film and advertisements as well as written texts) this module explores both the origins and development of the 'consumer society' and also what is meant by that term.
The aim of this module is:
- To give the student a better understanding of the changes in the sphere of consumption in Britain between the late eighteenth and the mid twentieth centuries although the experience of other countries (particularly France and the USA) will be used where appropriate for purposes of comparison.
By the end of this module, students will be expected to be able to:
- Understand various theories of consumption from the mid nineteenth century to the present, particularly the work of Veblen, Marx, Simmel, Benjamin and Baudrillard.
General Reading List:
- Gurney, P. The Making of Consumer Culture in Modern Britain (2017)
This module will be delivered via:
- One 2-hour seminar per week
This module does not appear to have a published bibliography for this year.
Assessment items, weightings and deadlines
| Coursework / exam |
Description |
Deadline |
Coursework weighting |
| Coursework |
Essay (5000 words) |
|
100% |
Exam format definitions
- Remote, open book: Your exam will take place remotely via an online learning platform. You may refer to any physical or electronic materials during the exam.
- In-person, open book: Your exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer to any physical materials such as paper study notes or a textbook during the exam. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, open book (restricted): The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer only to specific physical materials such as a named textbook during the exam. Permitted materials will be specified by your department. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, closed book: The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may not refer to any physical materials or electronic devices during the exam. There may be times when a paper dictionary,
for example, may be permitted in an otherwise closed book exam. Any exceptions will be specified by your department.
Your department will provide further guidance before your exams.
Overall assessment
Reassessment
Module supervisor and teaching staff
Prof Peter Gurney, email: pjgurney@essex.ac.uk.
Professor Peter Gurney
PHAIS PG Queries: phaispg@essex.ac.uk
Yes
Yes
No
No external examiner information available for this module.
Available via Moodle
Of 2 hours, 2 (100%) hours available to students:
0 hours not recorded due to service coverage or fault;
0 hours not recorded due to opt-out by lecturer(s), module, or event type.
* Please note: due to differing publication schedules, items marked with an asterisk (*) base their information upon the previous academic year.
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