This startlingly original and highly readable volume adds a new richness
and depth to an element of U.S. history that is all too often taken for
granted. In American Consumer Society, Regina Lee Blaszczyk examines the
emergence of consumerism in the Victorian era, and, in tracing its
evolution over the next 140 years, shows how the emergence of a mass
market was followed by its fragmentation. Niche marketing focused on
successive waves of new consumers as each made its presence known: Irish
immigrants, urban African Americans, teenagers, computer geeks, and
soccer moms, to name but a few.
Blaszczyk demonstrates that middle-class consumerism is an intrinsic
part of American identity, but exactly how consumerism reflected that
identity changed over time. Initially driven to imitate those who had
already achieved success, Americans eventually began to use their
purchases to express themselves. This led to a fundamental change in
American culture--one in which the American reverence for things was
replaced by a passion for experiences. New Millennium families no longer
treasured exquisite china or dress in fine clothes, but they'll spare no
expense on being able to make phone calls, retrieve emails, watch ESPN,
or visit web sites at any place, any time. Victorian mothers just
wouldn't understand.
Using materials and techniques from business history, art history,
anthropology, sociology, material culture, and good story-telling, this
lavishly illustrated and highly thoughtful narrative offers a compelling
re-interpretation of American culture through the lens of consumerism,
making it perfect for use not only as supplementary reading in the U.S.
survey, but also for a variety of courses in Business, Culture,
Economics, Marketing, and Fashion and Design history.
