American Culture through Mail Order Catalogs



American Culture through Mail Order Catalogs

JoAnne Zoller Wagner

ESOL teachers have intuitively known for a long time that mail order catalogs, which are free and full of visuals and useful vocabulary, could be useful in the ESOL classroom. However, their use tends to be reduced to learning about money, counting, and shopping. Although this might be a good use on the beginner level, intermediate and advanced ESOL students can benefit from taking a look at the cultural meanings and values behind the catalogs. After all, each U.S. household gets an average of two catalogs a week, every week of the year. Fifty-four percent of Americans actually place an order, spending $87 billion annually. When you mention mail order catalogs, Americans tend to smile. We have a strange love /hate relationship with them which reveals some interesting tensions in American life. ESOL students interested in American culture find the catalogs fascinating, and they are curious about the role of the catalogs in American life.

Each fall I teach a course called American Language and Civilization to a small group of international students at Central College in Pella, Iowa. This past fall, I had students from Iran, Russia, Spain, France, Switzerland, and the Czech Republic. They responded with enthusiasm and lively discussion to the unit on mail order catalogs. The unit consists of three activities:

(1) A hands-on analysis of the catalogs

(2) A viewing and discussion of Affluenza, a PBS production.

(3) Interviews with Americans regarding their use of / views of the catalogs

Each of the activities is followed by an in-class discussion.

It is necessary to collect catalogs prior to this unit. Each student needs approximately five catalogs in order to analyze a representative sample. Fortunately, it is not at all difficult to collect catalogs in advance. If you are willing to be buried under an avalanche of catalogs, just put the word out among your colleagues that you are collecting, and they will be only too willing to oblige. I recommend asking others for additions to whatever collection you already have, because any one household only gets a narrow section of the total array of catalogs. Having done this unit two years in a row, I now have a varied collection of at least 200 catalogs. One of my colleagues continues to slip new and interesting catalogs under my door. Carrying the catalogs can be a problem, but a small urban shopping cart works quite nicely, if you don't mind being branded as a bit eccentric. Not to worry, since you will already be thought of as strange for collecting mail order catalogs, which most people would rather throw away.

The students conduct their analysis of the catalogs following a form I devised. The analysis typically takes two to three classroom hours. Although this might seem time-intensive, it is time well-spent. It takes a little while for students to familiarize themselves with the format, not to mention the content, of the catalogs, but they tend to be alternately fascinated, disgusted, and amused by the catalogs. Students analyze the catalogs according to kinds of merchandise; socioeconomic class targeted; necessary vs. luxury items; "funniest, most inventive, most expensive," etc.; and whether or not these catalogs could exist in their country. Then the students are asked to anticipate the interview questions by guessing why people use mail order catalogs instead of going to the store, and by formulating their own questions about the role of the catalogs in our culture.

After analyzing the catalogs, students discuss their results in small groups, showing specific examples from the catalogs for each category. By the end of the discussion, issues of consumerism, affluence, economic justice, and environmental waste usually arise. It is at this point that a viewing and discussion of the PBS program Affluenza is particularly effective. Affluenza is an extremely well produced program which explores the various social and economic symptoms of the "epidemic" of affluence in America: namely, bankruptcies, broken families, environmental disaster, stress, loss of personal meaning in life, etc. International students respond excitedly to this critical look at American life today, and are anxious to discuss it.

Finally, each student is sent out to interview three Americans on their use of and views on mail order catalogs. I have designed a questionnaire which helps Americans reflect on the role of mail order catalogs in their life and in American life. International students are usually surprised at some of the answers, which differ from their own views in some significant ways. Whereas international students often view mail order as a "lazy" way to shop, Americans tend to think of mail order as "convenient." International students often see the mail order items as ridiculous and wasteful, whereas Americans enjoy the novelty and frequently mention looking for "good gift ideas."

Up until now, the conclusion of the unit has been a culminating discussion of the results of the interviews and implications of the study. Next year, however, I plan to take the unit one step further by having the international students (1) view and discuss Affluenza along with the Economic Inequality class at Central, and (2) present the results of their study of the catalogs to the International Marketing class at Central. Both of these events should extend and enrich the international students' understanding of Americans and American culture, as well as perhaps transform the American students in those courses.

Consumerism and the consequences of affluence are rarely addressed in ESOL texts on American culture, but these are significant influences on our lives and in our culture as a whole. Mail order catalogs, visible symbols of American consumerism, can be viewed by international students as a cultural artifact which needs decoding. This unit allows them to do just that.

If any members of MIDTESOL would like a copy of the analysis form or the interview questions, I'd be glad to send them copies, upon receipt of an SASE. My address is: English Department, Central College, Pella, IA 50219. Email: wagnerj@central.edu

The Affluenza program is available through .

JoAnne Zoller Wagner, "American Culture through Mail Order Catalogs," MIDTESOL Matters, June 1999, p. 4.

This article may also be viewed on-line on the MidTESOL site: Newsletter/nlsum99c.html

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