Paper 2 PAGES

“Story of a Thing”

Introduction to Cultural Anthropology (ANT 150)

Dr. Simanti Dasgupta

Semester-long Project

On the first day of the class, there will be a draw of “things”. A representative from each group will draw from the collection presented. The “thing” then becomes your topic of research specifically focusing on how the product is advertised. Therefore the next step is to select advertisement(s) that are designed to market the “thing”.

You will work as a group through the semester and complete the following assignments:

a) Present a Power Point/Prezi synopsis of your findings/ideas scheduled towards the end of the semester (see syllabus for dates). Please use the document titled “Analyzing an Ad-Questions” in the “Assignments” tab in Isidore to prepare your presentation

b) Final Paper (8-10 pages) : Each student in the group will interview 2 people (family/friends) to understand how people make choices about things they buy. Please refer to the document titled, “Story of a Thing: Interview Questions” in the “Assignments” tab in Isidore for this assignment.

Once all students have completed their interviews, collect and collate them to write your final paper. The primary aim of the final paper is to evaluate whether our consumption practices are driven by advertisement that create “needs” or actual needs.