Popular Culture

"The selection of essays here is outstanding. The Reader is particularly strong in bridging between founding figures and cutting edge work by newer writers."
- Henry Jenkins, MIT

"An extraordinarily well considered selection of articles and essays, arranged with skill and style."
- Charlie Blake, University College Northampton

Popular Culture: A Reader helps students understand the pervasive role of popular culture and the processes that constitute it as a product of industry, an intellectual object of inquiry and an integral component of all our lives.

The volume is divided into 7 thematic sections, and each section is preceded by an introduction which engages with, and critiques, the chapters that follow. The book contains:

• Classic writings from all the 'big names' including Raymond Williams, Stuart Hall, Walter Benjamin, Theodor Adorno, Frederic Jameson, Dick Hebdige, Angela McRobbie, Paul Gilroy and many more.
• Contemporary cultural references throughout - this is not simply an historical account.
• Pieces drawing on diverse national, disciplinary and subdisciplinary contexts.
• Sensitivity to issues of gender, race and sexuality.

This reader is a key resource for students of media and communication studies, cultural studies, and the sociology of the media.