For my Cultures and Ideas class about the global culture of capitalism, our final project was to research a topic/theme that we covered in class, make a movie about it for the class, and write a companion essay about it for our teacher. Sounds familiar right?

It’s super similar to the work I did in my CTW class, but the research was not NEARLY as extensive. Thank goodness cuz

Source: Giphy

The overlap in the assignments let me apply some of the skills that I learned in CTW to my C&I. My project was focussed on the globalization of McDonald’s and specifically, its relevance in China, and whether it is an example of homogenization or hybridization of culture.

Source: Giphy

To do this, I first mapped the territory by seeing what scholars were talking about in the broader conversation about McDonald’s in China. None of them were really talking about whether it was a case of either homogeny or hybridization, so this was my gap.

Ultimately, I argued that the case is is more homogenous. To do this, I used a good ol’ fashion NAYSAYER (among other things)!  I said something along the lines of

Some scholars argue that blah, blah, blah demonstrate hybridization, and they are right. However, I would argue that because these variations are minor, the case of McDonald’s in China is more indicative of a homogenous than heterogeneous society.

It’s kinda cool when classes double dip, BUT it’s not cool when food double dips.