Golden Arches East by James L Watson

Golden Arches East by James L Watson

McDonald s restaurants are found in over 100 countries, serving tens of millions of people each day. What are the cultural implications of this phenomenal success? Does the introduction of American fast food undermine local cuisines, many of them celebrated for centuries? Does it, as some critics fear, presage a homogeneous, global culture? These are but a few of the questions confronted in this engaging study that vividly demonstrates how the theories and techniques of anthropology can be used not only to examine obscure peoples and exotic practices, but to shed light on the motivations and behavior of people conducting their daily lives in some of the major population centers of the world. Earlier studies of the fast food industry have emphasized production, focusing on labor or management. This book takes a fresh approach to the industry by concentrating on the perspective of the consumer. It analyzes consumers reactions to McDonald s in five East Asian cities: Hong Kong, Beijing, Taipei, Seoul, and Tokyo. What do they have to say about McDonald s? How is fast food perceived by those who pay to eat it? How do their preferences and biases affect the system of production?

James L. Watson is Fairbank Professor of Chinese Society and Professor of Anthropology at Harvard University.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780804732079
ISBN 10	0804732078
Title	Golden Arches East
Author	James L Watson
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Stanford University Press
Year published	1998-01-01
Number of pages	276
Prizes	Short-listed for Kiriyama Prize (Pacific Rim Book) 1998
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.