Research Catalog

Title

Enchanting a disenchanted world : revolutionizing the means of consumption / George Ritzer.

Author

Ritzer, George

Publication

Thousand Oaks, Calif. : Pine Forge Press, c2005.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

xii, 263 p.; 23 cm.

Summary

"Author George Ritzer takes a look at how a revolutionary change has occurred in the places in which we consume goods and services, and how it has a profound effect not only on the nature of consumption but also on social life. In the process of taking capitalism to a new level, we have created new "cathedrals of consumption"--Locales to which we make pilgrimages in order to practice our consumer religion. The book offers rich detail on consuming in places such as Las Vegas, Disney World, cruise ships, Wal-Mart, and McDonald's - all competing to outdo one another to see which one can put on the greatest show and lure the most consumers." "Enchanting a Disenchanted World connects the everyday world in a sociological and theoretical way, making it an ideal text for a wide range of undergraduate and graduate courses, including introductory sociology, sociology of consumption, social change, popular culture, sociology of leisure, social theory, and economic sociology. The book will also be of value to anyone interested in exploring a sociological analysis of the world's changing and expanding patterns and places of consumption."--Jacket.

Subjects

• Marketing > United States
• Consumption (Economics) > United States

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (p. 211-243) and index.

Processing Action (note)

• committed to retain

Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS -- A tour of the new means of consumption -- The revolution in consumption and the larger society -- Social theory and the new means of consumption -- Rationalization, enchantment, and disenchantment -- Reenchantment: creating spectacle through extravaganzas and simulations -- Reenchantment: creating spectacle through implosion, time, and space -- Landscapes of consumption -- Societal implications and the future of the new means of consumption.

ISBN

076198819X (pbk.)

LCCN

^^2004007745

OCLC

• 54865532
• SCSB-12202536

Owning Institutions

Harvard Library