McDonaldization Revisited: Critical Essays on Consumer Culture

by Mark Alfino, John S. Caputo, Robin Wynyard

Overview

An international, multidisciplinary group of scholars examines the thesis of George Ritzer's popular book The McDonaldization of Society. The essays analyze the premise of McDonaldization, provide richer theoretical discussions of the relationship between Ritzer's analysis and semiotics, critical theory, feminism, and postmodernism, and extend the thesis to other areas of consumer culture.

Aimed at both undergraduate and graduate students, the work is designed to stand alone and need not be accompanied by Ritzer's original text. The essays fill in necessary theoretical issues as well as extend theoretical concepts. A major teaching tool in communication, sociology, and philosophy as well as in more applied areas such as hospitality management.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780275961046
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	01/26/1998
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	232
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.53(d)
Lexile:	1410L (what's this?)

About the Author

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.

Table of Contents

Foreword by Douglas Kellner
Preface
Introduction by Mark Alfino, John S. Caputo, and Robin Wynyard
Nostalgia and Mass Culture: McDonaldization and Cultural Elitism by Martin Parker
It May Be a Polar Night of Icy Darkness, but Feminists Are Building a Fire by Jane Rinehart
The Rhetoric of McDonaldization: A Social Semiotic Perspective by John S. Caputo
McDonaldization and the Global Sports Store: Constructing Consumer Meanings in a Rationalized Society by Steven Miles
A Sociology of Rib Joints by Philip D. Holley and David E. Wright, Jr.
Old Wine in New Bottles—Critical Limitations of the McDonaldization Thesis — The Case of Hospitality Services by Roy C. Wood
McDonaldization and Consumer Choice in the Future: An Illusion or the Next Marketing Revolution? by Stephen Taylor, Sheena Smith, and Phil Lyon
The McCommodification of Society: Rationalization and Critical Theory by Thomas M. Jeannot
Missing the Cultural Basis of Irrationality in the McDonaldization of Society by Ngure wa Mwachofi
The Bunless Burger by Robin Wynyard
Postmodern Hamburgers: Taking a Postmodern Attitude Toward McDonald's by Mark Alfino
Index

Editorial Reviews

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.

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