Graduation Semester and Year

2012

Language

English

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts in Sociology

Department

Sociology and Anthropology

First Advisor

Ben Agger

Abstract

The primary goal of this thesis is to contribute to critical/ social theory through food theory by examining the interactions between local (i.e., internal food trends) and delocalization/ globalization, which are external food trends in Croatia and the United States. I argue, the globalization process is visible in Croatian's adoption of processed foods and fast-food experiences, while the localization in the United States is observable in the re-creation of local, organic, and slower food practices. Subsets of Croatians are embarking on a path of monoculturalism, and conversely, subgroups in the United States are deconstructing and resisting the one common global food culture. I begin my thesis in the country where McDonaldization commenced, taking the reader through a journey of localization to globalization and back to local, examining both the positive and negative consequences of these societal changes. Then a historical synopsis of Croatia's turbulent political past provides rudimentary understanding of the once Socialist country's modest beginnings. Lastly, the de-McDonaldizing effects on America's irrational food system are discussed, as well as implications for both Croatia and the United States.

Disciplines

Social and Behavioral Sciences | Sociology

Comments

Degree granted by The University of Texas at Arlington

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