Consuming Fiction: Stories about Consumerism, Shopping and Consumption

From a critical cultural studies perspective, this paper acknowledges the tension between culture and materiality, and asserts that opportunities for informal, critical adult learning are present in everyday life. It uses consumerism as an example of hegemonic ideology encountered in daily living, and presents two anti-hegemonic responses to it. Introduction Initially sidelined in critical scholarship, consumption has become a topic of great interest among both scholars and consumers. Consumerism exemplifies what Gramsci (1971) considers hegemonic ideology. This paper juxtaposes mainstream consumerist discourse with two counterdiscourses. It illustrates how individuals encounter multiple understandings of and responses to ideologies and, as citizens and consumers, have to negotiate their way through them in the context of their own material circumstances. I focus on narratives found in three contemporary English-language novels. Their storylines and characters illustrate that individuals encounter and construct multiple discourses of consumerism and practices of shopping and consumption. I further relate this analysis to the contention of some adult educators that learning occurs throughout daily living and that reading fiction can spur critical exploration of social issues. Theoretical Perspective and Concepts Informed by a critical cultural studies perspective, this inquiry acknowledges the politics of everyday life. I use Antonio Gramsci’s (1971) concepts of “hegemony,” “ideology” and “common sense,” as well as his ideas about the role of intellectuals in ideological production. For Gramsci, learning occurs not just in the formal school settings, but also in informal settings throughout an ideologically charged civil society. Using consumerism as an example of hegemonic ideology and the claim that the “free market” amplifies the democratic aims of choice and freedom as an example of common sense, I regard novelists as intellectuals whose works either reinforce or challenge hegemonic ideology and can encourage informal adult learning. I complement these concepts with Raymond Williams’ (2005) addition of two types of non-hegemonic responses: There is a simple theoretical distinction between alternative and oppositional, that is to say between someone who simply finds a different way to live and wishes to be left alone with it, and someone who finds a different way to live and wants to change the society in its light. (pp. 41-42) Because hegemony incorporates multiple interests, it is flexible and accommodating – but not to such a degree that its central interests are lost. Those in positions of power will attempt to win over non-hegemonic forces; if this is not possible, it will seek ways to suppress them. Finally, I relate these concepts to the field of adult education through the work of Griff Foley (2001). I find his concept of “incidental learning” which “has to be uncovered. [because it is] informal, incidental and embedded in other activities” (Foley, 2001, p. 77) especially useful. Foley focuses his research on the learning that emerges in the course of collective action; Learning In Community: Proceedings of the joint international conference of the Adult Education Research Conference (AERC) (48th National Conference) and the Canadian Association for the Study of Adult Education (CASAE)/l'Association Canadienne pour l'Etude de l'Education des Adultes (ACEEA) (26th National Conference). Edited by Laura Servage and Tara Fenwick (June 2007)