Reference no: EM133665957

Your discussion post for this week comes from a quote in the Lears reading, though your answer might be found in either or both of the readings.
In his essay, "From Salvation to Self-Realization: Advertising and the Therapeutic Roots of the Consumer Culture, 1880-1930," T.J. Jackson Lears states:
"Around the turn of the century a fundamental cultural transformation occurred within the educated strata of Western capitalist nations. In the United States as elsewhere, the bourgeois ethos had enjoined perpetual work, compulsive saving, civic responsibility, and a rigid morality of self-denial. By the early twentieth century that outlook had begun to give way to a new set of values sanctioning periodic leisure, compulsive spending, apolitical passivity, and an apparently permissive (but subtly coercive) morality of individual fulfillment. The older culture was suited to a production-oriented society of small entrepreneurs; the newer culture epitomized a consumption-oriented society dominated by bureaucratic corporations."
Your discussion post should address the role/rise of national advertising in this cultural transformation. You may want to do some further reading about the "two camps" of Daniel Boorstin and Stuart Ewen, which are mentioned in the essay or you may formulate a position of your own.
The Post
Try to limit your answer to a paragraph or two. This will be challenging for some of you, but is important in communications writing. You need to get to the point quickly while still addressing everything the assignment asks for.
Focus on analyzing more than summarizing. Analysis is ultimately more about critical thinking and more important than simply summarizing. Think about the course objectives and this week's objectives; the clues are almost always there.
Posts must include at least one reference the readings; you might include a quote or just an "As {insert author's name} states...". This demonstrates that you did the readings and that you understand and can apply them to the discussion question. I'm not picky about which style you use to cite the reading within the post; just make sure I can easily find it if needed (e.g., "As {insert author's name} states on page 46...").