This course is designed to provide students with an understanding of the relationship between marketing as a business discipline and consumer rights and responsibilities. It looks at marketing from the consumer's point of view, rather than the traditional marketing manager's point of view. The course covers topics such as the "culture" of consumption of products and services in developed economies; the history and development of the consumer rights movement and "consumerism" in the United States and Australia; the philosophical underpinnings of the movement and where it is heading with regard to issues such as personal privacy and anti-globalisation; the opportunities and concerns posed by new interactive and personalisation technologies; and attempts by marketers to respond in multiple ways to all these consumer pressures and challenges. A critical and questioning approach is adopted throughout the course.