Book Description
The
Second Edition of
McDonaldization: The Reader includes a wide array of sources, from journal articles, to essays from edited books, to newspaper, and magazine articles. George Ritzer, best-selling author of
McDonaldization of Society, has updated this popular anthology to build upon and go beyond the thesis of McDonaldization. Classic articles from the
First Edition remain in this volume and are supplemented by a significant number of new pieces which bring the discussion about McDonaldization up to date.
New to this Edition:
- The volume includes interviews with two of the most important recent contributors to our understanding of McDonaldization— documentarian Morgan Spurlock ("Supersize Me") and journalist/author Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation).
- A whole new section (Part IV) discusses the implications of McDonaldization for globalization, and includes several essays that critically analyze the relationship between these concepts.
- Discussion questions and "Thinking Critically" sections aid students in reviewing the material presented and further extending the conversation about and surrounding McDonaldization.
Intended Audience:
This reader can be used in conjunction with McDonaldization of Society, Revised New Century Edition, in place of it, or as a supplementary text in a variety of courses, including Introduction to Sociology, Popular Culture, Social Theory, and Globalization.
Customer Reviews:
perhaps the Internet is a countertrend.......2006-11-10
Ritzer offers the loaded term McDonaldization as anything that takes after McDonald's Corporation. Four precepts are given - efficiency, calculability, predictability and automatic control. This book searches human society for examples that satisfy these precepts. A strange lens with which to view, perhaps. The fear, and that is basically the right word, is that those examples can or will inevitably lead to a homogenisation and standardisation of experiences. A shallow oneness for all.
One very interesting example from the book is the claim that the Internet is one of these examples. There has certainly been a commonality of experiences. Now, many people use browsers, with the differences between browsers being trivial. And the browser metaphor has proved axiomatic; a key factor in the Web's success. But the ability for anyone for make content for the Internet is a trend against a homogeneous experience. So that many diverse interests can be accessed and enjoyed.
Book Description
The contemporary era of globalization and the spread of transnational governance have altered conventional understandings of the nation, of nation-state sovereignty, and of territoriality. In The Anthropology of the State, editors Aradhana Sharma and Akhil Gupta contend that these changed conditions necessitate that we rethink rule, more broadly, as well as the institutions, practices, and processes that make up "the state. " The volume outlines an anthropological framework for doing so -one that foregrounds questions of culture and transnationalism -and maps potential directions for future study of "the state. "The Anthropology of the State introduces some of the most exciting approaches to the study of the state in a transnational world. This volume is unique in that it stresses the interplay between theory, ethnography, history, and critique. It brings together classic and contemporary theoretical examinations of the state along with cutting-edge ethnographic analyses of specific state practices, institutions, and ideas in diverse geographical locations and historical periods. The articles in this volume are presented for students and scholars in a range of disciplines such as anthropology, sociology, political economy, and postcolonial studies.
Customer Reviews:
accessible and excellent.......2006-03-26
this is a well-chosen collection with excellent introductions by the editors--they succinctly clarify concepts like governmentality, transnational forms of non-state sovereignty, etc. that are often presented in obtuse, unnecessarily technical language. highly recommended.
Book Description
This reader examines the family through two lenses--the familiar private family, in which we live our personal lives, and the public family, in which we deal with broader societal issues, such as raising the next generation, and the care of the elderly. Consequently, these readings look both at intimate, personal concerns, such as whether to marry, as well as societal concerns, such as governmental policies that affect families. The reader corresponds exactly to and is published concurrent with Cherlin’s textbook Public and Private Families: An Introduction; both the textbook and the reader have 15 same-named chapters.
Customer Reviews:
Where are the men?.......2006-02-17
This book was used as a textbook for a sociology of family class.
One interesting observation is that there is an odd absence of studies and articles concerning men. I am not sure if this is because of the body of research out there or because this particular author chose to disregard those studies. Overall, nice balance of pro- and anti-traditional family input.
Book Description
American Cultural Studies: A Reader shows how the burgeoning field of Cultural Studies has been taken up and developed in the United States. The book is a panorama of great writing and powerful ideas illustrating a particularly American response to questions of power and identity in the politics of culture. More than forty selections from key figures in the 'New Journalism', cultural theory, the social sciences, humanities, and visual arts are gathered together in seven sections, each one introduced by helpful contextualising notes. The book also includes illustrations that serve to extend the themes of each section in visual terms. An introductory chapter explains the editorial selection and offers a new account of Cultural Studies and American Studies in relation to American culture. The Epilogue then goes on to suggest new ways of doing Cultural Studies, and of thinking about America in particular, via the Internet.
Book Description
What was it like to be a passenger on the Mayflower? How many people survived the first harsh winter in the New World? How did Pilgrim children spend their days? Find out the answers to these questions and more in this Magic Tree House Research Guide: Pilgrims. Includes fun facts from Jack and Annie, fantastic photos and illustrations, and a guide to doing further research.
Customer Reviews:
Great.......2007-09-26
My nephew loves these books. The research guides in particular add a lot of fun to the experience.
Book Description
This is a rich collection of essays highlighting the complex relationship between cultural production and consumption using examples from music, television, magazines, sports, and advertising. Classic, contemporary, and newly commissioned articles examine the key themes and debates on popular culture by key scholars. Using a multitude of perspectives the book explores how culture is commodified and turned into profit, including a study of contemporary celebrity and fandom. In addition, issues of social and cultural diversity are addressed in readings that are accessible and provocative for both students and academics.
Customer Reviews:
Important reading.......2003-07-07
The '80s is decidedly an important decade in twentieth-century America, colored by significant events and social changes, perhaps eclipsed only by the more radical era that preceded it by some twenty years. These collections of essays present a multitude of thoughts, both about and of the '80s, thoughts that both analyzed and constituted the zeitgeist of the decade. From Kristol's serious manifesto of neoconservatism to Wolfe's hilarious ridicule of pretentious public art, The Eighties: A Reader remains an indispensable portrait of a tumultuous time.
Of Narcissisms, Hubris, and Swinging to the Right..........2000-09-19
....or the Ray-Gun Reader. Sewall's introductory essay "Revisiting the Eighties" does a perfect job of overviewing what was siginficant in the 80's...starting with the account of the Morgan Stanley broker who was sound bit "Only Suckers would work for less than $200,000 a year" shortly after the Great Market Blowout in '88. It was a decade of greed, true enough, but also because of the messages the era of Reagan 'sublimininably' sent, in retrospect, it became a era of conservatives rallying to a divine purpose which nearest kinship was Nazi-ism, Fascism, Hitlerism...the Chosen Few was drafted to the top, as Tom Wolfe indicated,'Masters of the Universe'. It was Allan Bloom making a case for the return of classical, traditional education in the universities, it was Ben Stein (who, I hear recently is giving away money on a Comedy Channel gameshow) reflecting on how Hollywood created culture through the eyes of people who never, ever had to worry about being able to pay a telephone or a light bill, it was the appearance of AIDS and how the blindsidedness of many, many folks made it more deadly to millions of people, it was PJ O'Rourke and Eric Bogosian's biting satire, it was William Bennett's conservatism. These many essays tell the story of how we inadvertedly came to where we are today. Read the book and rediscover the 80's, it just may help us create better days, now...
Book Description
This collection testifies to the extraordinary variety of families in the United States, revealing that family arrangements have always been diverse and have often been in flux. Case studies describe the wide array of family forms and values, gender roles, and parenting practices that have prevailed in different times and places for different population groups. Paying special attention to the intersections and cross-currents of class, race, and ethnicity, as well as their differential impact on gender, sexuality, and personal identity, the contributors highlight the socioeconomic and cultural forces that affect the organization and internal dynamics of family life.
These articles provide a variety of perspectives that nonetheless point to a common theme: the myth of family homogeneity has not merely excluded some groups; it has deformed our understanding of all families. Social policies and psychological practice must take account of the complexity, contradictions, conflicts, and accommodations that shape people's individual and group experience of family life.
Drawing on historical, sociological, anthropological, and psychological research, American Families provides an overview of the theoretical and conceptual issues involved in studying the variations and interactions among different, constantly changing, families. It also considers the social, political, and practical implications of viewing family life through the lens of multiculturalism.
Customer Reviews:
A Reader.......2006-08-09
This is an excellent book for students of sociology, family history, human development or other fields that explore family life as it exists in our world today.
I especially appreciate how the author expands the reader's understanding of family forms from the common view of The Family as a mother/father, white, middle class, with two children "Ozzie and Harriot" stereotype to a more realistic understanding of the complexities of families in this country. I enjoyed reading stories that revealed how the factors of race, class, and gender effect families in our society. I also appreciated the inclusion of family stories that reveal the impact of historical contexts. For example, the stories from immigrants reveal how our society has historically valued labor as a means for profit over labor as a means to support families.
I didn't find the text to be overly academic, but rather fascinating, accessible and informative.
Good...but still very academic.......2000-06-12
This really is an excellent book, full of really clear and well-organized information on some very important, often over-looked issues in sociology and family development issues. But I still found it a little too academic-oriented. Am looking for something more accessible to not-well-educated people I work with in my job, families who are not readers. Stories and content are useful to me, however, in a big way, as both a community-based worker and as a serious student of these types of "non-traditional" but very current issues. I appreciated the book alot, but it still isn't quite "earthy" enough to use with non-academically-oriented clients...other than via me telling them some of the real life "stories" encountered in the book. I give it three stars and wait for a second edition!
Good...but still very academic.......2000-06-12
This really is an excellent book, full of really clear and well-organized information on some very important, often over-looked issues in sociology and family development issues. But I still found it a little too academic-oriented. Am looking for something more accessible to not-well-educated people I work with in my job, families who are not readers. Stories and content are useful to me, however, in a big way, as both a community-based worker and as a serious student of these types of "non-traditional" but very current issues. I appreciated the book alot, but it still isn't quite "earthy" enough to use with non-academically-oriented clients...other than via me telling them some of the real life "stories" encountered in the book. I give it three stars and wait for a second edition!
Book Description
Consumption has often been called America's true national pastime. From the earliest European explorers trading with Native Americans to today's Internet shoppers, consumerism has driven American society. Until recent years, however, consumerism has received little serious attention from historians and other scholars.
This welcome volume offers the most comprehensive and incisive exploration of American consumer history to date. The first book on this topic to span the four centuries from the colonial era to the present, and the first to propose theoretical frameworks, the volume brings consumer society to the center of American history. Indeed, its authors demonstrate the many ways their research enhances knowledge of a broad range of historical topics, such as politics, labor ideology, immigrant life, and race, gender, and class relations. By including types of consumer studies which are seldom linked, this volume offers both a basis for historical synthesis and a springboard for further inquiry.
With contributions by Raymond Williams, Jean Baudrillard, Juliet B. Schor, Kim Moody, Jean-Christophe Agnew, and many others, plus the most comprehensive bibliographical essay ever produced on the historiography of American consumption, Consumer Society in American History will take its place as the definitive sourcebook for this emerging field.
Contributors Jean-Christophe Agnew, Yale University Joyce Appleby, University of California, Los Angeles James Axtell, College of William and Mary Jean Baudrillard, Paris Wendell Berry, Kentucky T. H. Breen, Northwestern University Colin Campbell, University of York Lizabeth Cohen, Harvard University Alan Durning, Northwest Environment Watch, Seattle John Elkington, London James Fallows, Washington, D.C. Lawrence B. Glickman, University of South Carolina Cheryl Greenberg, Trinity College, Hartford Julia Hailes, London Andrew Heinze, University of San Francisco Joel Makower, Washington, D.C. Elaine Tyler May, University of Minnesota Kim Moody, Detroit, MI H. F. Moorhouse, University of Glasgow George J. Sanchez, University of Southern California Juliet B. Schor, Harvard University Michael Schudson, University of California, San Diego Mark A. Swiencicki, University of Connecticut Steven Waldman, Washington, D.C. Robert E. Weems, Jr., University of Missouri, Columbia Raymond Williams (19211988), Cambridge University
Book Description
Critical Cultural Policy Studies: A Reader charts cultural policy as it exerts its powerful - if often overlooked - influence on every aspect of culture, from the fine arts to popular forms of entertainment. Key essays by pioneers in cultural policy studies combine with more recent reflections to define this important field and demonstrate the substantial role policy plays in the cultural production, from film, radio, and television to the Internet, the arts, music, and even sport.The volume explores a dazzling array of subjects from across the humanities and social sciences and around the globe: indigenous media, television and citizenship, film and government, museums, national cultures, suburban culture, international trade, and the shopping mall. Making the claim that no study of culture is complete without a thorough analysis of economic and political determinants, Critical Cultural Policy Studies offers a provocative view that culture is a very public - and very political - concern.
Books:
- On the Move
- Participation and Democratic Theory (Structural Analysis in the Social Sciences)
- Paul Revere's Ride
- Policing and Special Units (Prentice Hall Policing and ... Series.)
- Political Ideologies and the Democratic Ideal (6th Edition)
- Politics of Congressional Elections (Longman Classics Series), The (6th Edition) (Longman Classics Series)
- Population: An Introduction to Concepts and Issues
- Power, Faith, and Fantasy: America in the Middle East: 1776 to the Present
- Power, Faith, and Fantasy: America in the Middle East: 1776 to the Present
- Projections of Power: Framing News, Public Opinion, and U.S. Foreign Policy (Studies in Communication, Media, and Public Opinion)
Books Index
Books Home
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General
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Transitions: Making Sense of Life's Changes
Animal Dreams
The McDonaldization of Society
Future-focused Leadership: Preparing Schools, Students, And Communities for Tomorrow's Realities
Leadership for Learning: How to Help Teachers Succeed
