An approach to the irruption of modernizing goods in Costa Rica: 1953 - 1984

Abstract

The project studies the sociocultural impact that it produced: the emergence of the wage society and the foreign cultural influence, especially the American one, in the boom in the consumption of modern goods (foreign clothing, processed foods and household appliances) with the aim of describing the emergence of new modes of life and gender roles in Costa Rica between 1953- 1984 that is, during the welfare state, a period in which Costa Rican society became increasingly cosmopolitan, imbued with mass culture from developed countries mainly from the United States. With regard to spatial delimitation, the proposal focuses on urban areas of Costa Rica, however, the cultural and economic influence of foreign countries also places research in the global sphere. Finally, it is worth mentioning that the construction of this thesis project is valuable because it will show consumption beyond a purely economic phenomenon by incorporating associated social and cultural aspects. Among the authors who share the previous perspective is the historian Arnold Bauer for whom consumption is a mechanism of identity construction and social relations in other words is a means of creating meanings through rituals that crystallize when consuming goods.