Abstract
The (still in)complete bibliography of George Ritzer is one that spans not just decades and foci, but also impact and disciplines. Ritzer has been at the forefront of many sub-disciplines of sociology (and the social sciences), including in areas as diverse as metatheory, consumption, globalization and McDonaldization. His reputation as a social scientist who has demonstrated his expertise across a broad range of existing sub-disciplines (theory, consumption, globalization), as well as an innovator of new sub-disciplines (McDonaldization, grobalization, prosumption), all led him to be entrusted with crafting several field-defining works (perhaps most notably The Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology).
The bibliography below includes principal highlights of Ritzer’s extensive work. The inclusion of translations, second editions (and beyond), as well as the breadth and depth of coverage, all point toward Ritzer’s impact (past, present and future) on the discipline of sociology (and beyond). Aside from the classical founding fathers, there is arguably no one who has had such a profound impact on shaping the academic and public discipline of sociology as George Ritzer.
Books
Ritzer G and Ryan JM (2026) The McDonaldization of Society, 11th edn. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Ritzer G and Ryan JM (2024) Introduction to Sociology, 6th edn. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Ritzer G and Stepnisky JN (2022) Contemporary Sociological Theory and Its Classical Roots: The Basics. 6th edn. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications.
Turkish translation (2012) Ankara: De Ki Basim Yayim.
Turkish translation of 4th edn. Istanbul: De Ki Basim Yayim.
Ritzer G and Stepnisky JN (2021) Modern Sociological Theory. 9th edn. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.
Ritzer G and Dean P (2021) Globalization: A Basic Text. 3rd edn. Malden: Wiley-Blackwell.
Ritzer G and Stepnisky JN (2021) Sociological Theory. 11th edn. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications.
Turkish translation of 9th edn. De Ki Pub.
Ritzer G and Stepnisky JN (2020) Classical Sociological Theory. 8th edn. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.
Ritzer G and Dean P (2019) Globalization: The Essentials. 2nd edn. Malden: Wiley-Blackwell.
Ritzer G (2019) Essentials of Sociology. 4th edn. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications.
Ritzer G (2014) Essentials of Sociology. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications. Subsequent editions were published in 2016 (2nd edn) and 2018 (3rd edn).
Chinese translation of 2nd edn (2017) Yeh Yeh Book Gallery.
Ritzer G (2013) Contemporary Sociological Theory (and Its Classical Roots): The Basics. 4th edn. New York: McGraw-Hill. Previous editions were published in 2003, 2006 and 2010.
Korean translation of 2nd edn (2006) Pak Young Sa Publishing Co.
Ritzer G (2012) Introduction to Sociology. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications. Subsequent editions were published in 2013 (Canadian version), 2014 (2nd edn), 2016 (3rd edn), 2018 (4th edn) and 2019 (5th edn).
Chinese translation (2005) Beijing: Peking University Press.
Chinese translation (2015) Yeh Yeh Book Gallery.
Simplified Chinese edition (2023) China Remnin University Press.
Italian translation. Milan: Apogeo Srl.
Italian translation (2014) Italy: UTET.
Turkish translation (2015) Ankara: De Ki.
Ritzer G and Stepnisky JN (2012) Contemporary Sociological Theory and Its Classical Roots.
Ritzer G (2011) Classical Sociological Theory. 7th edn. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Croatian option of 5th edn. Croatia: Naklada.
Italian option of 5th edn. Milan: McGraw-Hill.
Portuguese option of 5th edn. Portugal: McGraw-Hill.
Spanish translation of 5th edn. Madrid: McGraw-Hill.
Spanish translation of 3rd edn. Madrid: McGraw Hill.
Chinese translation of 4th edn (2005) McGraw-Hill.
Hebrew translation of 5th edn (2006) Open University of Israel.
Polish translation (2003) Warsaw: Muza Sa Publisher.
Polish translation of 3rd edn (2004) Poland: ZYSK I S-Ka Wydawnictwo SJ.
Chinese translation of 6th edn. McGraw-Hill International.
Ritzer G (2011) Globalization: The Essentials. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.
Arabic translation (2011).
Ritzer G (2010) Globalization: A Basic Text. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell. A second edition was published in 2015, co-authored with Paul Dean.
Turkish translation (2011) Istanbul: Ayrinti Yayinlari.
Ritzer G (2009) Enchanting a Disenchanted World: Continuity and Change in the Cathedrals of Consumption. 3rd edn. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications.
Ritzer G (2008) Modern Sociological Theory. 7th edn. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Spanish translation of 3rd edn (1994) Madrid: McGraw-Hill.
Korean translation of 3rd edn. Min-Young-SA.
Croatian translation of 3rd edn. Zagreb: Globus.
Russian translation of 5th edn. Russia: Piter.
Hebrew translation (2006) Open University of Israel.
Greek translation of 2nd edn (2012, 2020) Athens: Kritiki Publishing.
Ritzer G (2007) The Globalization of Nothing 2. Thousand Oaks: Pine Forge Press.
Ritzer G (2004) The Social Theory Collection. Nanjing: Nanjing University Press.
Ritzer G (2004) The Globalization of Nothing. Thousand Oaks: Pine Forge Press.
German translation (2005) UVK Verlagsgesellschaft.
Italian translation (2005) Slow Food Editore.
Japanese translation (2004) Japan: English Agency.
Japanese translation (2005) Tokyo: Akashi Shoten Co.
Romanian translation (2010) Bucharest: Humanitas.
Excerpted in: Iyall Smith KE (2013) Sociology of Globalization. Boulder: Westview Press, 69–81.
Ritzer G (2001) Explorations in Social Theory: From Metatheorizing to Rationalization. Volume 1 of collected works. London: Sage.
Indonesian translation (2013) Jakarta: Penerbit Pustaka Pelajar.
Ritzer G (2001) Explorations in the Sociology of Consumption: Fast Food Restaurants, Credit Cards and Casinos. Volume 2 of collected works. London: Sage.
Italian translation (2003) Milan: Franco Angeli.
Korean translation (in press). Ilshin Publishing House.
Ritzer G (1999) Enchanting a Disenchanted World: Revolutionizing the Means of Consumption. Thousand Oaks: Pine Forge Press. Subsequent editions were published in 2005 (2nd edn) and 2010 (3rd edn).
Japanese translation of 2nd edn. Tokyo: Akashi Shoten Co. (agented by English Agency, Japan).
Italian translation of 2nd edn (2005) Milan: Il Mulino.
Spanish translation (2000) Barcelona: Editorial Ariel SA.
Polish translation (2001, 2003, 2004) Warsaw: Muza SA. A translation of the 3rd edition (2012) was published by Muza-Spectrum.
Turkish translation (2004) Istanbul: Ayrinti Yayinlari.
Italian translation (2000) La Religione dei Consumi: Cattedrali, Pellegrinaggi e Riti Dell’iperconsumismo. Milan: Il Mulino.
Excerpted works:
Excerpted in Italian (2000) in il Mulino 5: 799–821.
Excerpted in: Anderson ML, Logio KA and Taylor HF (2001) Understanding Society. Belmont: Wadsworth.
Simplified Chinese translation (2015) Social Sciences Academic Press.
Ritzer G (1998) The McDonaldization Thesis: Extensions and Explorations. London: Sage.
Japanese translation (2001) Waseda Daigaku Shuppanbu.
Ritzer G (1997) Postmodern Social Theory. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Ritzer G (1995) Expressing America: A Critique of the Global Credit-Card Society. Newbury Park: Pine Forge Press.
Excerpted in: Newman D (1997) Sociology: Exploring the Architecture of Everyday Life. Thousand Oaks: Pine Forge Press.
Ritzer G (1994) Sociological Beginnings. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Farsi translation (1996) Tehran.
Ritzer G (1993) The McDonaldization of Society. Thousand Oaks: Pine Forge Press.
Revised editions were published in 1996, 2000 (New Century Edition), 2004 (Revised New Century Edition), 2008 (5th edn), 2011 (6th edn), 2013 (7th edn), 2015 (8th edn), 2019 (9th edn) and 2020 (10th edn).
German translation (1995) Frankfurt: S. Fischer.
German pocketbook version (1997) Frankfurt: S Fischer.
German translation of Revised New Century Edition (2005) UVK Verlagsgesellschaft.
Spanish translation (1996) Barcelona: Editorial Ariel SA.
Czech translation (1996) Prague: Nakldatelstvi CSAV Academia.
Danish translation (1996) Copenhagen: Hans Reitzel Forlag A/S.
Italian translation (1997) Milan: Il Mulino.
Italian translation (2003, 2020) Milan: Franco Angeli.
Polish translation (1997) Warsaw: Muza SA.
French translation (1998) Tous Rationalisés! Roissy-en-France: Alban.
Turkish translation (1998) Istanbul: Ayrinti Yayinlari.
Korean translation (1999) Seoul: ShiYuShi Publishing.
Korean translation (2003) Seoul: ShiYuShi Publishing.
Korean translation (2017) Seoul: Pulbit Publishing.
Japanese translation (1996) Tokyo: Tuttle Mori Agency.
Japanese translation (1999) Tokyo: Waseda Daigaku Shuppanbu.
Japanese translation (2001) Tokyo: Waseda University Press.
Croatian translation (1999) Zagreb: Naklada Jesenski I Turk.
Chinese translation (1999, 2000) Shanghai: Shanghai Translation Publishing House.
Chinese translation (2014) Beijing: China Renmin University Press.
Romanian translation (2003) Bucharest: SNSPA Publishing House.
Russian translation of 5th edn (2011) Moscow: Praxis.
Hungarian translation under negotiation. Hungary: Magveto Konyvkiado Es Kereskedelmi KFT.
Greek translation under option. Athens: Erevnites Publisations.
Special issue (1996) A special issue of the Dutch journal Sociale Wetenschappen 4 was devoted to this book.
Smart B (ed.) (1999) Resisting McDonaldization. London: Sage. Devoted to essays on the McDonaldization thesis.
Afino M, Caputo J and Wynyard R (eds) (1998) McDonaldization Revisited. Greenwood Press. Also involving essays on McDonaldization.
Excerpted in: Kalberg S (ed.) (2005) Max Weber: Readings and Commentary on Modernity. Malden: Blackwell, 357–360.
Excerpted in: Wadsworth Classic Readings in Sociology (2000) Belmont: Wadsworth, 2000.
Excerpted in: Henslin J (1997) Down to Earth Sociology. 8th edn. New York: Free Press.
Excerpted in: Finsterbusch K (1998) Sources: Notable Selections in Sociology. 3rd edn.
Excerpted in: Rudnick J (1996) Foundation, Challenge and Change. Ontario: Thompson.
Excerpted in: Adler P and Adler P (2001) Sociological Odyssey: Readings in Sociology. Belmont: Wadsworth.
Summarized in: Kivisto P (1998, 2001) Illuminating Social Life: Classical and Contemporary Theory Revisited. Thousand Oaks: Pine Forge Press.
Ritzer G (1992) Metatheorizing. Newbury Park: Sage Publications.
Ritzer G (1991) Metatheorizing in Sociology. Lexington: Lexington Books.
Ritzer G (1990) Frontiers of Social Theory: The New Syntheses. New York: Columbia University Press. Paperback edition was published in 1991.
Spanish translation. Mexico City: Universidad de Guadalajara Direccion de Publicaciones.
Ritzer G (1988) Sociological Theory. 2nd edn. New York: Alfred A Knopf.
Revisited editions were published in 1988 (2nd edn), 1992 (3rd edn), 1996 (4th edn), 1999 (5th edn), 2004 (6th edn), 2007 (7th edn), 2010 (8th edn), 2013 (9th edn) and 2017 (10th edn).
Taiwanese translation (1995) Juliu Published.
Farsi translation of 3rd edn (1996) Teran.
Chinese translation of 2nd, 3rd and 6th edns (1996). McGraw-Hill, Taiwan.
Korean translation (1996) Seoul: Nanam Pub. House.
Korean translation (2006) Seoul: Hanol Publishing Co.
Italian option of 5th edn. Milan: McGraw-Hill.
Portuguese option of 5th edn. Portugal: McGraw-Hill.
Indonesian translation of 6th edn. Indonesia: Penerbit Kreasi Wacana.
Persian translation of 2nd edn. Tehran: Shahid Beheshti University.
Indonesian translation of 8th edn (2012) Jakarta: Pustaka Pelajar.
Albanian translation of 6th edn. Albania: UFO University Publishing House.
Swedish translation of 7th edn. Corporate Pathfinders.
Turkish translation of 7th edn. AYRAC Publishing House.
Ritzer G (1988) Collected Lectures. Beijing: Peking University.
Ritzer G and Walczak D (1986) Working: Conflict and Change. 3rd edn. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall. First published as Man and His Work: Conflict and Change.
Ritzer G (1981) Toward an Integrated Sociological Paradigm. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Ritzer G (1975) Sociology: A Multiple Paradigm Science. Boston: Allyn & Bacon. Revised paperback edition was published in 1980.
Danish translation (1977) Odense: Fremad.
Danish translation (1997) Copenhagen: Fremad A/S Publishers.
Indonesian translation (1985, 1992) Jakarta: Rajawali Pers.
Korean translation in preparation.
Ritzer G and Trice H (1969) An Occupation in Conflict. Ithaca: Cornell, ILR.
Edited volumes
Ritzer G, Rojek C and Ryan JM (eds) (2025) The Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology
Ritzer G and Wiedenhoft Murphy W (eds) (2020) The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Sociology. Malden: Wiley-Blackwell.
Ritzer G (ed.) (2013) The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Sociology. London: Wiley-Blackwell.
Indonesian translation. Pustaka Pelajar.
Ritzer G (2012) Encyclopedia of Globalization. 5 vols. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.
Persian translation (2016) 3 vols. Tehran: Iranian Scientific & Cultural Publication Company.
Ritzer G and Ryan JM (eds) (2011) The Concise Encyclopedia of Sociology. Malden: Blackwell Publishing.
Ritzer G (ed.) (2009) McDonaldization: The Reader. 3rd edn. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications.
Ritzer G (ed.) (2007) The Blackwell Companion to Globalization. Malden: Blackwell Publishing.
Ritzer G (ed.) (2007) Encyclopedia of Sociology. 11 vols. Oxford: Blackwell.
Online version (2007–present) Encyclopedia of Sociology.
Ritzer G (ed.) (2005) Encyclopedia of Social Theory. 2 vols. Thousand Oaks: Sage. Selected as a Choice Outstanding Academic Title, 2006.
Ritzer G (ed.) (2003) Handbook of Social Problems: A Comparative International Perspective. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications.
Ritzer G and Smart B (eds) (2003) Handbook of Social Theory. London: SAGE Publications.
Ritzer G (ed.) (2002) McDonaldization: The Reader. Thousand Oaks: Pine Forge Press. Subsequent editions were published in 2006 (2nd edn) and 2010 (3rd edn).
Ritzer G (ed.) (2000) Blackwell Companion to Major Social Theorists. London: Blackwell. A two-volume paperback edition was published in 2002; a second edition was co-authored with Jeff Stepnisky in 2011.
Chinese translation. Jiangsu People’s Publishing House.
Articles and essays
Ryan JM, Ritzer G and Strasser H (2025) The McDonaldization of academic sociology. Sociology Between the Gaps: Forgotten and Neglected Topics 10(1). Available at: https://digitalcommons.providence.edu/sbg/vol10/iss1/6 (accessed 16 April 2025).
Ritzer G, Ryan JM, Hayes S, et al. (2024) McDonaldization and artificial intelligence. Postdigital Science and Education.
Ryan JM, Ritzer G and Strasser H (2023) The McDonaldization of academic sociology. Sociology Today (Soziologie Haute).
Ritzer G and Degli Esposti P (2020) The increasing centrality of prosumption in the digital capitalist economy. Österreichische Zeitschrift für Soziologie 45(3): 351–369.
Ritzer G and Miles S (2019) The changing nature of consumption and the intensification of McDonaldization in the digital age. Journal of Consumer Culture 19(1): 3–20.
Andrews DL and Ritzer G (2018) Sport and prosumption. Journal of Consumer Culture 18(2): 356–373.
Ritzer G, Jandrić P and Hayes S (2018) The velvet cage of educational con(pro)sumpion. Open Review of Educational Research 5(1): 113–129.
Ritzer G (2017) Can there really be ‘true’ alternatives within the food and drink markets? If so, can they survive as alternative forms? Journal of Marketing Management 33(7–8): 652–661.
Ritzer G (2017) Developing insights into contemporary con(pro)sumer culture based on classical ideas in social theory. Journal of Historical Research in Marketing 9(1): 34–40.
Ritzer G (2016) Hospitality and prosumption. In: Lashley C (ed.) The Routledge Handbook of Hospitality Studies. Routledge, 233–246.
Ritzer G and Dorsey ER (2016) The McDonaldization of medicine. JAMA Neurology 73(1): 15–16.
Ritzer G and Dorsey ER (2016) Applying the principles of McDonaldization to medicine – reply. JAMA Neurology 73(4): 479.
Ritzer G (2015) Dealing with the welcome critiques of ‘prosumer capitalism’. The Sociological Quarterly 56(3): 499–505.
Ritzer G (2015) Automating prosumption: The decline of the prosumer and the rise of the prosuming machines. Journal of Consumer Culture 15: 407–424.
Ritzer G (2015) Extending and critiquing thinking on prosumption. The Sociological Quarterly 56: 499–505.
Ritzer G (2015) Prosumer capitalism. The Sociological Quarterly 56: 413–445.
Ritzer G (2015) The new world of prosumption: Evolution, return of the same, or revolution. Sociological Forum 30: 1–17.
Ritzer G (2014) Prosumption: Evolution, revolution, or eternal return of the same. Journal of Consumer Culture 14(1): 3–24.
Ritzer G (2013) Review: Are we consuming beyond our means? The debate over, and resistance to, excessive consumption and debt. Contemporary Sociology 42(1): 59–62.
Jurgenson N and Ritzer G (2012) The internet, Web 2.0, and beyond. In: Ritzer G (ed.) The Wiley-Blackwell Companion to Sociology. Wiley-Blackwell, 626–648.
Ritzer G and Richer Z (2012) Still enamoured of the glocal: A comment on ‘From local to grobal, and back’. Business History 54(5): 798–804.
Ritzer G (2012) The coming of age of prosumption and the prosumer. American Behavioral Scientist 56(April): 379–398.
Ritzer G (2011) Ignoring credit and consumption discredits sociology. Contemporary Sociology 40(4): 417–420.
Ritzer G and Jurgenson N (2010) Production, consumption, prosumption: The nature of capitalism in the age of the digital prosumer. Journal of Consumer Culture 10(1): 13–36.
Ritzer G and Andrews D (2007) The grobal in the sporting glocal. Global Networks 7(2): 113–153.
Ritzer G (2006) Who’s a public intellectual? British Journal of Sociology 57(2): 209–213.
Ritzer G (2006) Rooting for the ‘devil’: Baseball, the Yankees, Shane Spencer (who?), and social theory. South Atlantic Quarterly 105(2): 277–288.
Ritzer G, Stepnisky J and Lemich J (2005) The ‘magical’ world of consumption: Transforming nothing into something. Berkeley Journal of Sociology: 118–137.
Ritzer G (2005) Credit cards and the globalization of nothing. Saint Louis University Public Law Review 24(2): 313–333.
Ritzer G (2005) Revolutionizing the world of consumption. Journal of Consumer Culture 2: 103–118.
Ritzer G (2005) Angst for McWorld? In: Strasser H and Nollmann G (eds) Endstation Amerika? Wiesbaden: Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, 216–233.
Ritzer G (2004) Review symposium: The globalization of nothing. Thesis Eleven: 111–114.
Ritzer G (2003) September 11, 2001: Mass murder and its roots in the symbolism of American consumer culture.
Reprinted in: Robertson R and White KE (eds) Globalization: Critical Concepts in Sociology. London: Routledge, 412–424.
Ritzer G (2003) McDonaldization: Chicago, America, the world. Special issue of American Behavioral Scientist 47(3).
Ritzer G and Maruyama T (2003) McDonaldization and Japanese society (in Japanese).
Ritzer G (2003) Rethinking globalization: Glocalization/grobalization and something/nothing. Sociological Theory 21(3): 193–209.
Reprinted in: Appelrouth S and Edles LL (eds) Sociological Theory in the Contemporary Era. 3rd edn.
Ritzer G (2003) The globalization of nothing. SAIS Review: A Journal of International Affairs 23(2): 189–200.
Reprinted in: Steger M (2012) Globalization and Culture. Edward Elgar.
Ritzer G and Ryan JM (2003) The globalization of nothing. Social Thought & Research 25: 51–81.
Ritzer G (2003) Islands of the living dead: The social geography of McDonaldization. American Behavioral Scientist 47(2): 119–136.
Ritzer G and Ryan JM (2003) Toward a richer understanding of global commodification: Glocalization and grobalization. The Hedgehog Review 5(2): 66–76.
Ritzer G and Stillman T (2003) McDonaldization, Americanization and globalization. In: Beck U, Sznaider N and Winter R (eds) Globales Amerika? Bielefeld: Verlag.
Ritzer G and Murphy J (2002) Solid in the world of flux. In: Junge M and Kron T (eds) Zygmunt Bauman, 51–79.
Ritzer G and Stillman T (2001) The postmodern ballpark as a leisure setting: Enchantment and simulated deMcDonaldization. Leisure Sciences 23: 99–113.
Ritzer G .and Stillman T (2001) The modern Las Vegas casino-hotel: The paradigmatic new means consumption. Management 4: 83–99.
Ritzer G and Malone E (2000) Globalization and McDonaldization. American Studies 41: 97–118.
Ritzer G (2000) Obscene from any angle: Fast food, credit cards, casinos and consumers. Third Text 51: 17–28.
Reprinted in: Araeen R, Cubitt S and Sardar Z (eds) (2002) Third Text Reader on Art, Culture and Theory. London: Continuum, 316–329.
Ritzer G (2000) Globalization, McDonaldization. In: Dieter Bogenhold (ed.) Modern American Sociology, 219–242.
Ritzer G (1999) A scientific Q and A with Professor G. Ritzer. Olume-Ejtemai (Journal of Social Sciences) 13(Spring–Summer): 13–20.
Ritzer G (1999) All-consuming (review essay). Contemporary Sociology 28: 68–70.
Ritzer G (1999) Die fast-food These. GDI Impuls 2: 47–52 (in German).
Ritzer G (1998) Writing to be read: Altering the culture and the reward structure of sociology. Contemporary Sociology 27: 446–453.
Ritzer G (1996) Fast-food restaurants (and other new means of consumption): A postmodern perspective. Sociale Wetenschappen 4: 3–16.
Ritzer G (1996) McDonaldization is not an all-or-nothing process: A response to the critics. Sociale Wetenschappen 4: 75–76.
Ritzer G (1996) The McDonaldization thesis: Is expansion inevitable? International Sociology 11: 291–308.
German translation. In: Bogenhold D. Moderne Amerikanische Soziologie. Enke Verlag.
Reprinted in: Brym RJ (ed.) Society in Question: Sociological Readings for the 21st Century. Toronto: Harcourt Brace and Company.
Reprinted in: Jenkins B and Page EC (eds) The Foundations of Bureaucracy in Economic and Social Thought. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
Reprinted in: Benyon H (ed.) The Fordism of Ford and Modern Management. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
Ritzer G (1996) Munch(ing) on McDonald(ization) of social theory. Swiss Journal of Sociology 22: 247–250.
Ritzer G (1996) McUniversity in the postmodern consumer Culture. Quality in Higher Education 2: 185–199.
Ritzer G (1996) Globalization, McDonaldization and Americanization. Annales De L’Institut International de Sociologie (new series) 5.
Ritzer G and Gindoff P (1992) Methodological relationism: Lessons for and from social psychology. Social Psychology Quarterly 55: 128–140.
Ritzer G (1992) The legitimation and institutionalization of metatheorizing in sociology. Sociological Perspectives 35: 543–550.
Ritzer G (1991) Talcott Parsons’ Marshall lectures: Contemporary, but flawed. Sociological Inquiry.
Ritzer G (1991) Recent explorations in sociological metatheorizing. Sociological Perspectives 34(3).
Ritzer G and Schubert D (1991) The changing nature of neo-Marxian theory: A metatheoretical analysis. Sociological Perspectives 34: 359–376.
Ritzer G (1991) Reflections on the rise of metatheorizing in sociology. Sociological Perspectives 34: 237–248.
Ritzer G (1991) The recent history and the emerging reality of American sociological theory: A metatheoretical interpretation. Sociological Forum 6: 269–287.
Ritzer G (1991) Biography: A (still) underutilized metasociological method. Contemporary Sociology 20: 10–12.
Ritzer G (1991) I never met a metatheory I didn’t like. Mid-American Review of Sociology 15: 21–32.
Ritzer G (1991) Talcott Parson’s Marshall lectures: Contemporary, but deeply flawed. Sociological Inquiry 61: 74–80.
Ritzer G (1990) Metatheory: Its uses and abuses in contemporary Sociology. Sociological Forum 5(1): 1–74.
Ritzer G (1990) Socioeconomics: In tune, but out of touch, with recent sociological theory. Work and Occupations 17: 240–245.
Ritzer G (1990) Metatheorizing in sociology. Sociological Forum 5: 3–15.
Ritzer G (1990) Metatheoretical analysis of socioeconomics. Mid-American Review of Sociology 14: 27–43.
Ritzer G (1989) The New Economy. Special issues of Work and Occupations, 16(3) and 16 (4).
Ritzer G (1989) The permanently new economy: The case for reviving economic sociology. Work and Occupations 16(3): 243–272.
Reprinted in: Benyon H (ed.) (2007) Patterns of Work in the Post-Fordist Era. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
Ritzer G (1989) Of levels and intellectual amnesia. Sociological Theory 7: 226–229.
Ritzer G (1989) The sociology of work: A metatheoretical analysis. Social Forces 67(3): 593–604.
Ritzer G (1989) Collins does metatheory (again!), and he does it (pretty) well. Symbolic Interaction 12(1): 81–84.
Ritzer G (1989) The delineation of a sociological architectonic. Sociology and Social Research 3: 45–48 (Chinese translation).
Ritzer G (1988) Sociological metatheory: A defense of a subfield by a delineation of Its parameters. Sociological Theory 6(3): 187–200.
Chinese translation (1989) in Sociology and Social Investigation. Beijing: China Sociological Association.
Ritzer G and Walczak D (1988) Rationalization and the deprofessionalization of physicians. Social Forces 67: 1–22.
Excerpted in: Hodson R and Sullivan T (eds) (1990) Work. Wadsworth.
Reprinted in: Cockerham W (ed.) (1996) The Sociology of Medicine. London: Edward Elgar Publishing Co.
Reprinted in: Cockerham W, Glasser M and Heuser LS (eds) (1997) Readings in Medical Sociology. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall.
Ritzer G and Macdonald K (1988) The sociology of the professions: Dead or alive? Work and Occupations 15(August): 251–272.
Ritzer G (1988) Problems, scandals and the possibility of TextbookGate: An author’s view. Teaching Sociology 16(October): 373–380. Condensed version (1989) TAA Report 3(2).
Ritzer G (1988) The micro-macro link. Contemporary Sociology 17(5): 703–706.
Ritzer G and Walczak D (1987) The changing nature of American medicine. Journal of American Culture 9(4): 43–51.
Ritzer G (1987) The current state of metatheory. Perspectives: The Theory Section Newsletter 10(2): 1–6.
Chinese translation (1987) She hui (Sociological Journal) 6: 11–12.
Ritzer G (1985) The rise of micro-sociological theory. Sociological Theory 3(Spring): 88–89.
Ritzer G (1983) The McDonaldization of society. Journal of American Culture 6(1): 100–107.
Reprinted in: Waggoner T (ed.) Manual for Light and Keller, Sociology. New York: Random House.
Reprinted in: Brezina P, Selengut C and Weyer RA (eds) (1990) Seeing Society: Perspectives on Social Life. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Reprinted in: Ferguson SJ (ed.) (1996) Mapping the Social Landscape. Mountain View: Mayfield.
Reprinted in: Adler PA and Adler P (eds) (2001) Sociological Odyssey. Belmont: Wadsworth.
Ritzer G and Bell R (1981) Emile Durkheim: Exemplar for an integrated sociological paradigm? Social Forces 59(4): 966–995.
Reprinted in: Pickering WSF (ed.) (2000) Durkheim: Critical Assessments. London: Routledge.
Ritzer G and Greisman H (1981) Max Weber, critical theory, and the administered world. Qualitative Sociology 4(Spring): 34–55.
Ritzer G (1981) Paradigm analysis in sociology: Clarifying the issues. American Sociological Review 46(April): 245–248 (comment).
Ritzer G (1980) The failure to integrate theory and practice: The case of the sociology of work. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science 17(3): 376–379.
Ritzer G (1975) Sociology: A multiple paradigm science. The American Sociologist 10(2): 156–167.
Reprinted in: Mihu A (ed.) American Sociology. Bucharest: Editura Stiintifica si Enciclopedica.
Chinese translation (1989) in Sociology and Social Research 2: 48–50.
Ritzer G (1975) Professionalization, bureaucratization, and rationalization: The views of Max Weber. Social Forces 53(4): 627–634.
Ritzer G and Trice H (1970) On clarifying commitment theory. Social Forces 48: 530–533 (comment).
Ritzer G and Trice H (1969) An empirical study of Howard Becker’s side-bet theory. Social Forces 48: 475–478. Reprinted in ILR Reprint Series.
Book chapters
Ritzer G, Ryan JM, Hayes S, et al. (2024) McDonaldization and artificial intelligence. In: Kourkoulou D, Tzirides A-O, Cope B, et al. (eds) Trust and Inclusion in AI-Mediated Education: Where Human Learning Meets Learning Machines. New York City: Springer, 303–317.
Ritzer G (2021) McDonaldization in the age of COVID-19. In: Ryan JM (ed.) COVID-19: Two Volume Set. Routledge.
Ritzer G (2018) Nothing (and something). In: Iyall Smith KE (ed.) Sociology of Globalization: Cultures, Economies, and Politics. Routledge, 69–82.
Ritzer G (2018) Inhospitable hospitality? In: Rowson B and Lashley C (eds) Experiencing Hospitality. Nova Science Publishers, 73–89.
Hayes D and Ritzer G (2017) Beyond McDonaldization: A conversation. In: Hayes D (ed.) Beyond McDonaldization: Visions of Higher Education. Routledge, 42–46.
Ritzer G (2017) From production and consumption to prosumption: A personal journey and its larger context. In: Keller M et al. (eds) Routledge Handbook of Consumption. New York: Routledge, 83–92.
Ritzer G (2016) Honoring Edward Tiryakian as a metasociologist: A metaconceptual analysis of prosumption and related concepts. In: Robertson R and Simpson J (eds) The Art and Science of Sociology: Essays in Honor of Edward A. Tiryakian. Anthem Press, 131–148.
Ritzer G and Rey PJ (2016) From ‘solid’ producers and consumers to ‘liquid’ prosumers. In: Davis M (ed.) Liquid Sociology: Metaphor in Zygmunt Bauman’s Analysis of Modernity. London: Routledge, 252–272.
Ritzer G (2016) The dehumanized consumer: Does the prosumer offer some hope? In: García Martínez AN (ed.) Being Human in a Consumer Society. Routledge, 25–40.
Ritzer G and Murphy J (2014) Festes in einer Welt der Flusses: Die Beständigkeit der Moderne in einer zunehmend postmodernen Welt. In: Junge M and Kron T (eds) Zygmunt Bauman. Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, 45–68.
Ritzer G (2013) Globalisation. In: Beck A, Bennett P and Wall P (eds) Communication Studies: The Essential Resource. London: Routledge, 283–286.
Ritzer G (2013) The technological society: Social theory, McDonaldization and the prosumer. In: Jeronimo HM et al. (eds) Jacques Ellul and the Technological Society in the 21st Century. Dordrecht, 35–47.
Ritzer G (2012) ‘Hyperconsumption’ and ‘hyperdebt’: A ‘hypercritical’ analysis. In: Brubaker R, Lawless RW and Tabb CW (eds) A Debtor World: Interdisciplinary Perspective on Debt. New York: Oxford University Press, 60–80.
Ritzer G (2010) Conceptualizing globalization in terms of flows. In: Dahms HF and Hazelrigg L (eds) Theorizing the Dynamics of Social Process. Leeds: Emerald Publishing, 247–271.
Ritzer G (2010) Focusing on the prosumer: On correcting an error in the history of social theory. In: Blättel-Mink B and Hellman K-U (eds) Prosumer Revisited. Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, 61–80.
Ritzer G and Jurgenson N (2009) Efficiency, effectiveness, and Web 2.0. In: Kleinman S (ed.) Culture of Efficiency: Technology in Everyday Life. New York: Peter Lang, 51–67.
Ritzer G and Lair CD (2009) The globalization of nothing and the outsourcing of service work. In: Korczynski M and Macdonald CL (eds) Service Work: Critical Perspectives. New York: Routledge, 31–51.
Ritzer G (2008) Enchanting McUniversity: Towards a spectacularly irrational university quotidian. In: Webber M and Bezanson K (eds) Rethinking Society in the 21st Century: Critical Readings in Sociology. Canadian Scholars Press, 149–156.
Ritzer G and Barnard A (2008) Globalization defined. In: Barnard A, Horner N and Wild J (eds) The Value Base of Social Work and Social Care. Berkshire, NY: McGrawHill, 41–54.
Ritzer G and Lair CD (2008) Empty organizations. In: Barry D and Hansen H (eds) The Sage Handbook of New Approaches in Management and Organization. Los Angeles: Sage, 215–216.
Ritzer G and Ryan JM (2007) Postmodern social theory and sociology: On symbolic exchange with a ‘dead’ theory. In: Powell JL and Owen T (eds) Reconstructing Postmodernism: Critical Debates. New York: Nova Science, 41–57.
Ritzer G (2007) Can globalized commercial architecture be anything but highly McDonaldized? In: Baumeister R and Lee S (eds) The Domestic and the Foreign in Architecture. 010 Publishers, 123–145.
Ritzer G (2007) A ‘new’ global age, but are there new perspectives on it?” In: Rossi I (ed.) Frontiers of Globalization Research. New York: Springer, 361–370.
Ritzer G and Friedman M (2007) Stadterneuerung als McDisneyisierung der Städte. In: Nollman G (ed.) Sozialstruktur und Gesellschaftsanalyse. Wiesbaden: Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, 207–230.
Ritzer G (2007) Inhospitable hospitality. In: Lashley C, Lynch P and Morrison A (eds) Hospitality: A Social Lens. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 129–140.
Ritzer G (2006) Art, McDonaldization and the globalization of nothing. In: Dasgupta S and Kielty R (eds) Globalization and After. New Delhi: Sage, 228–240.
Ritzer G (2006) Management ethics and consumers. In: Clegg SR and Rhodes C (eds) Management Ethics. London: Routledge, 155–171.
Ritzer G (2006) McDonaldization. In: Scott J (ed.) Sociology: The Key Concepts. London: Routledge, 96–97.
Ritzer G (2005) Angst vor McWorld. In: Strasser H and Nollmann G (eds) Endstation Amerika? Wiesbaden: Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, 216–233.
Ritzer G, Ryan JM and Stepnisky JN (2005) Transformations in consumer settings: Landscapes and beyond. In: Ratneshwar S and Mick DG (eds) Inside Consumption: Consumer Motives, Goals, and Desires. London: Routledge, 292–308.
Ritzer G and Ryan JM (2004) The globalization of nothing. In: Dasgupta S (ed.) The Changing Face of Globalization. New Delhi: Sage, 198–217.
Ritzer G and Ryan JM (2004) Americanisation, McDonaldisation and globalisation. In: Campbell N et al (eds) Issues in Americanisation and Culture. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 41–60.
Ritzer G (2003) Die globalisierung des Nichts: So viele machen so viel aus so wenig. In: Kleiner MS and Strasser H (eds) Globalisierung: Kultur und Gesellschaft in Einer Entfesselten Welt. Cologne: Herbert van Halem Verlag, 78–101.
Ritzer G and Stillman T (2003) Assessing McDonaldization, Americanization and globalization. In: Beck U, Sznaider N and Winter R (eds) Global America: The Culture Consequences of Globalization. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 30–48.
Ritzer G and Murphy J (2002) Solidity in a world of liquidity: The persistence of modernity in an increasingly postmodern world. In: Junge M and Kron T (eds) Zygmunt Bauman. Stuttgart: Leske and Budrich, 51–79 (in German).
Ritzer G (2002) Enchanting McUniversity: Toward a spectacularly irrational university quotidian. In: Hayes D and Wynyard R (eds) The McDonaldization of Higher Education. Westport: Greenwood Press.
Ritzer G (2001) Slow food vs. McDonalds. In: Petrini C (ed.) Slow Food. VT: Chelsea Green Publishing Co., 19–23.
Ritzer G and Goodman D (2001) Postmodern theorizing. In: Turner J (ed.) Handbook of Sociological Theory. New York: Plenum.
Ritzer G, Zhao S and Murphy J (2001) The nature of metatheory. In: Turner J (ed.) Handbook of Sociological Theory. New York: Plenum.
Ritzer G, Goodman D and Wiedenhoft W (2001) Theories of consumption. In: Ritzer G and Smart B (eds) Handbook of Social Theory. London: Sage, 410–427.
Ritzer G (2001) From person- to system-oriented service. In: Sturdy A et al. (eds) Customer Service: Empowerment and Entrapment. Basingstoke: Palgrave, 102–116.
Ritzer G, Goodman D and Wiedenhoft W (2001) Theories of consumption. In: Ritzer G and Smart B (eds) Handbook of Social Theory. London: Sage, 410–427.
Ritzer G and Ovadia S (2000) The process of McDonaldization is not uniform, nor are its settings, consumers, or the consumption of its goods and services. In: Gottdiener M (ed.) New Forms of Consumption: Consumers, Cultures and Commodification. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 33–49.
Ritzer G (2000) Globalisierung, McDonaldisierung und Amerikanisierung. In: Bogenhold D (ed.) Moderne Amerikanische Soziologie. Stuttgart: Lucius and Lucius, 219–242.
Ritzer G and Goodman D (2000) Toward a more open canon. In: Ritzer G (ed.) Blackwell Companion to Major Social Theorists. London: Blackwell, 1–21.
Ritzer G (1999) Assessing the resistors. In: Smart B (ed.) Resisting McDonaldization. London: Sage, 234–255.
Ritzer G (1998) Introduction. In: Baudrillard J. The Consumer Society: Myths and Structures. London: Sage, 1–24.
Ritzer G and Liska A (1997) McDisneyization and post-tourism: Complementary perspectives on contemporary tourism. In: Rojek C and Urry J (eds) Touring Cultures: Transformations in Travel and Theory. London: Routledge, 96–109.
Reprinted in: Williams S (ed.) (2003) Tourism: Critical Concepts. London: Routledge.
Reprinted (2004) in: Criterious 35.
Excerpted in: Museum of Contemporary Art (2005) Universal Experience: Art, Life and the Tourist’s Eye.
Ritzer G (1997) Fast food. In: Mattl S and Biswas RK (eds) Gotterspeisen. Vienna: Springer, 120–135 (in German).
Ritzer G (1997) McDonaldization and globalization. In: Middleton C, Gubbay J and Ballard C (eds) The Student’s Companion to Sociology. London: Blackwell, 220–225.
Ritzer G (1996) McJobs. In: Feller R and Walz G (eds) Optimizing Life Transitions in Turbulent Times: Exploring Work, Learning and Careers. Greensboro: ERIC/CASS Publications.
Ritzer G and Gindoff P (1994) Agency-structure, micro-macro, individualism-holism-relationism: A metatheoretical explanation of theoretical convergence between the United States and Europe. In: Sztompka P (ed.) Agency and Structure: Reorienting Social Theory. London: Gordon and Breach.
Ritzer G (1992) Metatheorizing in sociology: Explaining the coming of age. In: Ritzer G (ed.) Metatheorizing. Newbury Park: Sage, 7–26.
Ritzer G (1990) The current status of sociological theory: The new syntheses. In: Ritzer G (ed.) Frontiers of Social Theory: The New Syntheses. New York: Columbia University Press, 1–30.
Chinese translation (1989) in International Sociology 2: 52–58.
Ritzer G (1990) Micro-macro linkage in sociological theory: Applying a metatheoretical tool. In: Ritzer G (ed.) Frontiers of Social Theory: The New Syntheses. New York: Columbia University Press, 347–370.
Ritzer G (1979) Toward an integrated sociological paradigm. In: Snizek W et al. (eds), Contemporary Issues in Theory and Research: A Metasociological Perspective. Greenwood Press.
Ritzer G (1977) Reflections on the paradigmatic status of sociology. Mid-American Review of Sociology 2(winter): 1–15.
Ritzer G (1977) Implications of and barriers to industrial democracy in the United States and Sweden. In: Horowitz IL (ed.) Equity, Income and Policy: A Comparative Developmental Context. New York: Praeger, 49–69.
Ritzer G and Trice H (1973) The indigenous non-professional: Boon or boondoggle? In: Roman P and Trice H (eds) Psychiatric Sociology. New York: Jason Aronson, 59–73.
Ritzer G (1973) Professionalism and the individual. In: Freidson E (ed.) The Professions and Their Prospects. Beverly Hills: Sage Publications, 59–73.
Encyclopedia entries
Ritzer G (2025) McDonaldization. In Ritzer G, Rojek C and Ryan JM (eds) The Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology. 2nd edn. London: Wiley-Blackwell.
Ritzer G and Chen CC (2015) McDonaldization. In: Wright JD (ed.) International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences. 2nd edn. Elsevier, 828–830.
Ritzer G (2013) McDonaldization. In: Smith V (ed.) Sociology of Work: An Encyclopedia. SAGE Publications.
Soteropoulos Incollingo J and Ritzer G (2013) Prosumer. In: Smith V (ed.) Sociology of Work: An Encyclopedia. SAGE Publications
