Popular Culture A User’s Guide

“Popular Culture: A User’s Guide is an introduction to the study of mass culture and media. It is designed to be used as the core text in courses in popular culture and cultural studies, generally offered out of university departments of Communications (occasionally English, Film, and Sociology). While courses in cultural studies and pop culture seem exciting to undergraduate students, in reality they are encountering key social theorists for this first time, and often struggle with the amount of theory the course requires. PC: A User’s Guide provides a theoretically sophisticated but approachable introduction to the study of popular culture, giving students the analytical tools to understand the everyday texts and practices that surround them, as well as their own roles as consumers of and participants in popular culture. Unlike other introductory texts, it is thoroughly grounded in the historical development of pop culture from the mid-19th century to the present. The book includes a large number of case studies, suggested activities, and close-up boxes, all of which offer pedagogical support for students in a way that encourages careful critical thinking. The case studies in particular are helpful, as the clearest, most useful way to teach theory to students is to show them how it can be applied.”–