Below is a list of resources focused on our buying habits. Thanks to Nick N. for sharing this with us. If anyone else has any other resources, please feel free to comment.
Also in our discussion yesterday, Nick J. volunteered to make a wiki page. This website will be a resource for finding places in Columbus to buy goods that fit one or several criteria, some of which may be: made in U.S.A., made in foreign factories in which workers are treated fairly, money stays in local economy, product is made sustainably, etc. This could be a great service that our little community provides to the people of this city. But it will take many of us to make it work.
Getting Perspective on Consumer Culture
• The Consuming Passion: Christianity & Consumer Culture, by Rodney Clapp (IVP, 1998). Now 10 years old but still helpful, especially Clapp's final essay.
• Consuming Religion: Christian Faith and Practice in a Consumer Culture, by Vincent J. Miller (Continuum, 2003). A more scholarly treatment.
• "Faith in the Age of the iPod: Christianity and Consumer Culture," by Vincent J. Miller. Listen free online at maclaurin.org/mp3s/vincentmillerplenary11.mp3.
• Consuming Faith: Integrating Who We Are with What We Buy, by Tom Beaudoin (Sheed & Ward, 2007). Brand new.
• Above All Earthly Pow'rs: Christ in a Postmodern World, by David F. Wells (Eerdmans, 2005).
• American Mania: When More is Not Enough, by Peter C. Whybray (W. W. Norton & Company, 2005).
Getting Perspective on the Media & Technology
• The Merchants of Cool (2001), PBS Frontline documentary by Douglas Rushkoff. www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/cool/. This is dated but still very eye opening in terms of the grand marketing strategies behind the global entertainment corporations. Highly recommended.
• The Persuaders (2004), PBS Frontline documentary by Douglas Rushkoff. www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/persuaders/. A second installment from Rushkoff explaining contemporary marketing strategies. Highly recommended.
• Mediated: How the Media Shapes Your World and the Way You Live in It, by Thomas de Zengotita (Bloomsbury, 2005). Listen online to an interview with Thomas de Zengotita by Ken Myers on "Audition #3." mhadigital.org/index.php?post_id=135738. Also check out Mars Hill Audio Journal #78. Note that de Zengotita is at times vulgar, and ultimately despairing about a media culture that is "out of control." Nevertheless, this is worthwhile reading in terms of the negative consequences of a culture with infinite choices.
• "Ten Films that Ask the Right Questions," Salvo 3: Under the Influence, 2007. www.salvomag.com/new/articles/archives/film/maddex.php. See also the "Fatal Attractions" list in the print edition, page 20-24.
• Unfettered Hope: A Call to Faithful Living in an Affluent Society, by Marva Dawn (WJK, 2003). Without romanticizing the past, Dawn points out the negative consequences of technological progress, especially in terms of work, home and family, and offers biblical solutions. Highly recommended.
• "Technology & Children," an interview with Leon Kass by Ken Myers on Mars Hill Audio Journal #66. www.marshillaudio.org/cdbonus/default.asp.
Getting Perspective on Sustainability
• Consumed (2007), American Public Media. Key quote: "If everyone in the world consumed like the average American, we'd need about six Earths to sustain ourselves." Listen free online at sustainability.publicradio.org/consumed/
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2 comments:
Thanks for setting up the wiki Nick J. and wow that's a lot of resources Nick N.
Maybe we can move a lot of these things to a resources page on the wiki.
It's cool to see everyone's excitement about this.
As wages and consumption rose, the "Protestant ethic" that had helped to generate capitalism's unprecedented economic power was discarded in favour of an ethic of commodity consumption.
"People's identities were now increasingly defined by what they consumed rather than their religious beliefs or social actions.
The size of one's home, car and flat-screen TV, or the price of one's clothes, mobile phones and holidays became of paramount importance.
This economic ideology - based on the possibility, and desirability, of limitless growth - created an ethos of rampant materialism and individualism."
from an article called A financial house of cards
By Mark LeVine - on al Jazeera's website.....
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