Advertising & Society:  The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly

Course Description

These days we all share a common daily experience of being exposed to a continuous barrage of advertising messages from many directions, no matter what we watch or listen to, what we read, or where we go.  Sometimes advertising may be entertaining and sometimes it may disgust us.  But does it really do anything to us?  If so, is it good or bad?  Can advertising be a positive force in society, or does it deserve to be avoided?  In this seminar we look at advertising from the inside and from the outside, and examine it closely as an institution.  Many of the readings focus on critical assessments of advertising.  Among other things, we examine the impacts advertising may have on how we think about ourselves, and how we may in fact shape it.