Join the conversation with one of sociology’s best-known thinkers.

The Third Edition of Introduction to Sociology, thoroughly revised and updated, continues to show students the relevance of the introductory sociology course to their lives. While providing a rock-solid foundation, Ritzer illuminates traditional sociological concepts and theories, as well as some of the most compelling contemporary social phenomena: globalization, consumer culture, the Internet, and the “McDonaldization” of society. As technology flattens the globe, students are challenged to apply a sociological perspective to their world, and to see how “public” sociologists are engaging with the critical issues of today.

Contributor to the SAGE Teaching Innovations and Professional Development Award

George Ritzer is Distinguished University Professor at the University of Maryland. Among his awards: Honorary Doctorate from La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia; Honorary Patron, University Philosophical Society, Trinity College, Dublin; American Sociological Association’s Distinguished Contribution to Teaching Award, and the 2012-2013 Robin William Lectureship from the Eastern Sociological Society. He has chaired four Sections of the American Sociological Association- Theoretical Sociology, Organizations and Occupations, first Chair of Global and Transnational Sociology, and the History of Sociology. Among his books in theory are Sociology: A Multiple Paradigm Science (1975/1980) and Metatheorzing in Sociology (1991). In the application of social theory to the social world, his books include The McDonaldization of Society (7th ed., 2013), Enchanting a Disenchanted World (3rd ed. 2010), and The Globalization of Nothing (2nd ed., 2007). His is also the author of Globalization: A Basic Text (Blackwell, 2010). He edited the Wiley-Blackwell Companion to Sociology (2012), The Blackwell Companion to Globalization (2008) and co-edited the Wiley-Blackwell Companions to Classical and Contemporary Major Social Theorists (2012) and the Sage Handbook of Social Theory (2001). He was founding editor of the Journal of Consumer Culture. He also edited the eleven-volume Encyclopedia of Sociology (2007), the two-volume Encyclopedia of Social Theory (2005) and the five-volume Encyclopedia of Globalization (2012). He co-edited a special double issue (2012) of the American Behavioral Scientist on prosumption and since 2007 has published a number of widely cited articles on that topic. His books have been translated into over twenty languages, with over a dozen translations of The McDonaldization of Society alone.