Education

The Centre offers its own study track Kulutus yhteiskunnassa (Consumption in society) under the Master's Programme in Social Research. Some courses in the programme are offered in English. In addition, the Centre's researchers also teach courses in several other programmes.

The consumption in society study track as well as the individual courses taught by our researchers offer students the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the interdisciplinary field of consumption research. Utilising social scientific research approaches, consumption is examined as a multidimensional phenomenon from both empirical and theoretical viewpoints. The courses in the study track primarily focus on  consumer culture and consumer society, from their long-term trends to today's expanding world of digital consumption. Other interests include consumers’ agency, exercise of power, welfare and equality, the structure of consumption, ethical and ecological questions pertaining to consumption, as well as the possibility and inescapability of sustainable consumption, both locally and globally. Particular attention within the structures of consumption is paid to income distribution, services, commerce and technological platforms, where an increasing share of consumption today takes place. Consideration is also given to the relationship of human beings with material things and the world of goods.

The themes explored in the courses of the Study Track in Consumption in Society include the following:

  • Consumption research as a discipline
  • Consumer culture, power and influence
  • Political issues related to consumption
  • Practices and ethics of digital consumption
  • Sustainable consumption

The study track can only be completed in Finnish, but some of the courses are taught in English.

Courses taught by our researchers

In addition to the Master's study track of the Centre, our researchers teach in other Bachelor's and Master's programmes in the Faculty of Social Sciences, as well as in the Master's programme in Environmental Change and Global Sustainability (ECGS). You can search for courses by lecturer's name in the Courses service.