What makes a meal? How have ‘table manners’ evolved? What do the everyday rituals of eating tell us about modern life? What do they tell us about class and gender? How has the preparation and consumption of food evolved and how do we make sense of the concept of fast food or what George Ritzer termed ‘McDonaldization. In this lecture we look at the social rituals of eating and the production and consumption of food.
Required Reading:
Ritzer, George. 1983. ‘The McDonaldization of Society’, Journal of American Culture 6(1): 100-107.
Tutorial Discussion:
- Record everything you eat and drink in a day. What social norms and rules are you following or deviating from?
- What kind of social self is being cultivated at meal-times?
- What is the ‘civilising process’ as discussed by Norbert Elias?
- Is McDonaldization exactly the same as rationalization for Ritzer? What is different about it?
- How does the McDonaldization thesis apply to production and consumption, respectively?
Sample Solution
