Download GLOBALIZATION AND CONSUMPTION

SOCI 202 Social Anthropolgy
Spring 2012
Instructor: Deniz Yükseker
Koç University
Economic activities
 Raw material extraction and processing
 Production
 Transportation and distribution (wholesale and retail)
 Consumption
How do anthropologists study consumption?
 symbolic meanings of the consumption of certain
things
 changing meanings and symbolisms
 rituals and practices around consumption
 changing lifestyles and subsistence patterns
 connections between production and consumption
 Consumption as a way of differentiating a group or
individuals from another social class, or
ethnic/religious group below them (Bourdieu’s
concept of cultural capital; Weber’s concept of status
groups)
 Consumption as a ritual for integrating a community
 Consumption as a practice that divides and creates
conflict between different groups
Case study
June Nash: “Consuming Interests: Water, Rum, and
Coca-Cola from Ritual Propitiation to Corporate
Expropriation in Highland Chiapas”
Chiapas region of Mexico
 Pre-Colombian (Spanish conquest) period
 Spanish colonial period
 Independence
 Current period
The significance of water resources in the preconquest
civilizations such as Maya and Aztec
 Distribution of water and settlements
 Rituals for water
 Beliefs surrounding water
The aftermath of Spanish conquest
 Drying up of lakes and marshlands
 Diversion of rivers
 Cultivation of sugar cane; introduction of rum
Post-independence (1821)
 Creation of large-scale farms
 Deforestation
 Marginalization of indigeneous people
 Alcoholism
Second half of the 20th century
 Replacement of rum and tequila with Coca-Cola in
religious rituals
 Religious conversion
Market reforms since the 1980s
 Privatization of water resources
 Expr0priation of water basins by the government
 Concessions to Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola
Water becomes a tradeable commodity
 Shortage of water resources
 Affordability
What are the consequences of commercialization of
water?
 For the environment
 For the communities