Noted Economist, Sociologist and Author to Speak on "Sustainable Consumption in a Global Economy

Juliet Schor to speak on campus October 8.

September 21, 2008 - Juliet Schor, author of Born to Buy: The Commercialized Child and the New Consumer Culture, brings timely questions and her answers to bear on one of the most critical issues facing the current generation. Schor's talk on “Sustainable Consumption in a Global Economy,” the first in the Academy's new “Speaking of Sustainability” lecture series will be presented at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, October 8, in Kemper Auditorium at Phillips Academy.

Schor believes that “the culture of consumption excess which now pervades this country is wreaking havoc in many important ways.” She maintains that it is ecologically unsustainable-to crisis proportion; and socially unsustainable-as Americans work longer and harder for less and less financial stability; creating a rising culture of social exclusion-with rising wealth inequality, abdication of social responsibility, and growing isolation between economic groups.

Currently, Schor is a professor of sociology at Boston College and co-founder and co-chair of the board of the Center for a New American Dream, a national sustainability organization headquartered in Maryland. She is also at work on her latest of many books, Plentitude: Living Rich in an Age of Ecological Decline. Previously, she has published the national best-seller The Overworked American: The Unexpected Decline of Leisure, as well as, The Overspent American: Why We Want What We Don't Need, and Do We Shop Too Much? In addition, she has co-authored essay collections and other publications.

A regular presence in national and international media, Schor has appeared on 60 Minutes, The Today Show, Good Morning America, and The Early Show and her work has appeared in scores of magazines and newspapers including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Newsweek. She also has lectured widely throughout the United States, Europe and Japan.