Authors: Mark Alfino (Editor), John S. Caputo, Robin Wynyard
ISBN-13: 9780275961046, ISBN-10: 0275961044
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Greenwood Publishing Group, Incorporated
Date Published: September 2000
Edition: New Edition
MARK ALFINO is Associate Professor, Department of Philosophy, Gonzaga University.
JOHN S. CAPUTO is Professor and Chair, Communication Arts Department, Gonzaga University.
ROBIN WYNYARD is an independent consultant.
An international, multidisciplinary group of scholars examines the thesis of George Ritzer's popular book The McDonaldization of Society.
The collection is a response to George Ritzer's (1993, rev. 1996), which critiqued the phenomenon of McDonald's restaurants as an example of problems inherent in contemporary consumer society in the areas of both production and consumption. The authors represented in the present volume alternately amplify and critique Ritzer's work. Ritzer is criticized for not offering an adequate response to McDonaldization, and for neglecting the ways in which consumers can construct their own meanings for the products they consume; generally, his thesis is seen by some critics as overly pessimistic and disempowering. Feminism, semiotics, postmodernism, sociology, and critical theory are among the disciplines brought to bear on the topic. Despite their criticisms, the dynamism with which the present authors respond to Ritzer demonstrates the compelling nature of his seminal work. Paper edition (96104-4), $19.95. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.
Foreword: McDonaldization and Its Discontents - Ritzer and His Critics | ||
Preface | ||
Introduction | ||
1 | Nostalgia and Mass Culture: McDonaldization and Cultural Elitism | 1 |
2 | It May Be a Polar Night of Icy Darkness, but Feminists Are Building a Fire | 19 |
3 | The Rhetoric of McDonaldization: A Social Semiotic Perspective | 39 |
4 | McDonaldization and the Global Sports Store: Constructing Consumer Meanings in a Rationalized Society | 53 |
5 | A Sociology of Rib Joints | 67 |
6 | Old Wine in New Bottles: Critical Limitations of the McDonaldization Thesis - The Case of Hospitality Services | 85 |
7 | McDonaldization and Consumer Choice in the Future: An Illusion or the Next Marketing Revolution? | 105 |
8 | The McCommodification of Society: Rationalization and Critical Theory | 121 |
9 | Missing the Cultural Basis of Irrationality in the McDonaldization of Society | 143 |
10 | The Bunless Burger | 159 |
11 | Postmodern Hamburgers: Taking a Postmodern Attitude Toward McDonald's | 175 |
Index | 191 | |
Contributors | 199 |