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.