Consumption - From Consumism to Consumerism

Scholar Year: 2022/2023 - 2S

Courses

Head Teacher Responsability Maria Alcina Velho Dourado da Silva Head

Weekly workload Hours/week T TP P PL L TC E OT OT/PL TPL O S Type of classes Lectures Type Teacher Classes Hours Contact hours Totals 1 0,00

Teaching language

English

Intended learning outcomes (Knowledges, skills and competencies to be developed by the students)

Consumerism seeks to answer the question of how to find a rich and balanced life through the personal and professional choices that each citizen make in his daily life as an active member of the consumer society. The consumer movement thus seeks to help the citizen find his own strategies to deal with consumism by assuming himself as an alternative to the current model of life of contemporary societies. The goal is that each individual makes his choices in a responsible, informed and conscious way either as a citizen or as a professional - regardless of their area of activity.
By definition, this is a cross-cutting theme, since it seeks to contribute to the integral formation of the individual as a citizen in the light of the common good through his role of consumer. This implies countering the general rule of the consumer as an agent who moves for personal interests, but rather emphasizes his civic consciousness and the consequences of his lifestyle not only on a personal basis, but also in the lives of others and the planet Earth. The syllabus is commonly associated with Consumer Education (in Portugal) and Home Economics (in the Nordic countries) through reflections related to different fields, from media literacy to health education.
So, this subject intends to recognize and understand the concepts of consumption, consumism and consumerism, but also to learn how to create a Massive Online Open Course project - MOOC.
Specifically it is intended that each student should be able to identify basic concepts, highlighting the rights and duties of the consumer; recognize the effects of individual consumer behavior in a wide range of domains; describe the forms of intervention and mobilization of European citizens; deepen and share the different European realities; encourage the young student consumer to develop awareness-raising strategies within their specific academic training, with emphasis on the fields of education and communication; understand essential concepts and tools of online open access training (MOOC).
Finally along the classes it’s expected that students develop digital skills, but also problem solving, creativity, organization, collaboration and critical thinking.

Syllabus

• Basic concepts - consumption, consumism, consumerism, consumer rights and duties;
• Consequences of materialistic behaviour - climate emergency, social inequalities;
• Alternatives to consumerist behaviour - examples of good practices;
• European panorama of consumerism - from public policy to personal experience;
• Introduction to MOOC - concept and practice.

Demonstration of the syllabus coherence with the UC intended learning outcomes

This subject is planned to allow students to understand the main concepts, establish connections between their own country and dailylife realities, put in question consumer practices and to create their own understanding and pathway towards consumer citizenship. According to this, MOOC is a tool towards students growing understanding of contemporary reality which, not only allows them to develop their digital skills but also gives them an educational appliance to create an innovative way to spread not only consumerism goals, but can be applied to diferent contexts and topics besides this class.

Teaching methodologies

Emphasis in the use of student-centered strategies in an interdisciplinary approach to the study of the conspicuous consumption phenomenon, through the analysis and discussion of the most diverse documents, such as videos, articles and tutorials through the Moodle distance learning platform. Also, there will be the opportunity to experience and deepen the knowledge of Portuguese reality and alternatives to consumism.
The preferred approach corresponds to the development of the practical component focused on the proposal to create a project mobilizing the knowledge and skills acquired through small workgroups in the format of digital portfolio.
When the digital portfolio is finished should be made available as an experimental MOOC.
The theme of the digital portfolio must be negotiatied with the teacher and can include learning content and experiences from other subjects that the students are attending, as long the project include at least one topic from this syllabus.
As for the resources, there will be no need to purchase any works or manuals, since all the contents will be housed for free and made available through ESE's distance learning platform, including the basic Bibliography.
Classes take place in an ICT Lab or via Streaming.

Demonstration of the teaching methodologies coherence with the curricular unit's intended learning outcomes

The subject is divided in two main parts. The first part uses a theoretical-practical approach by which the students are invited to reflect and have experiences on the topics covered. These approach will help them to select the theme for their MOOC to be developed in the second part of the subject. This is taking place in small multinational groups that are expected to build up their skills, in particular digital skills.

Assessment methodologies and evidences

Students will be assessed throughout the semester through their involvement in the proposed activities beyond the project that they will create, in this case, a MOOC per group.
The final evaluation will be distributed as follows:
Participation in the activities (inside and outside classroom) - 20%
MOOC project (textual content, layout, structure and proposed activities) - 40%
MOOC project implementation - 40%

Attendance system

Not applicable.

Bibliography

Some basic approach:
Klein, N. (1999). No logo: Taking Aim at the Brand Bullies, Toronto, Ontario: Vintage Canada.
Leonard, A. (2010). The story of stuff: How Our Obsession with Stuff Is Trashing the Planet, Our Communities, and Our Health-and a Vision for Change. New York: Free Press.
Other resources will made available during classes.

Observations

There will be some activities outside the classroom that aim the students to know the portuguese reality concerning consumerism.