In his talk “Making a List, Checking It Twice: American Capitalism and Myth,” given at the 2023 Southern Humanities Conference in San Antonio, TX, David Garner questioned how Christmas myth and rituals condition children and promise future markets, as well as how these myths and rituals influence the U.S. economy, when holiday sales often account for well over half of the U.S. gross domestic product in the retail sector. His case study examined the Christmas toy, the Elf on the Shelf, and how it has contributed to Christmas myth and capitalism.
The College of Arts