Title
The essay title for this topic is: ‘Critically discuss the global aspects of modern consumer society.’
You are then asked to refine this into your own specific essay question. Examples of this might be:
- ‘How global is consumer society?’
- ‘What does a global analysis tell us about modern consumer societies?’
- ‘What is the relationship between globalisation and consumption?’
- ‘What problems, challenges and possibilities have accompanied the global growth of consumer society?’
- ‘Can consumerism be a force for global harmony?’
Structure
Introduce the essay by explaining why this is an important question to ask (politically, ethically, scientifically, intellectually). Preview some of the empirical evidence which explains the terms of the question (e.g. ‘globalisation’, ‘consumerism’, ‘consumer society’), as well as the reason for asking the question (economic growth rates, environmental problems, fears about declining cultural and biological diversity).
Depending on the precise wording of your question, you then need to explore different possible answers to it, showing how these answers are supported both by theory and by evidence. You may consider a variety of different positions, before concluding with a final assessment. You could structure the discussion as a debate between two contrasting perspectives. Or you could start by summarising an influential perspective, before critiquing that perspective at length, drawing on evidence to support your case. You may also introduce the topic by presenting an argument, and then structure the whole of the essay around a defence of that argument, discussing its critics and adversaries, and exploring the evidence for and against it.
you are required to display independent research and scholarship, to find empirical evidence to support the arguments and ideas you are exploring, and to show that you can reason and discuss in a logical and systematic way. Avoid depending slavishly on the lecture slides.
