Deconstructing Popular Culture

ISBN-13: 9780230545366 / Angielski / Miękka / 2008 / 248 str.

Paul Bowman

Opis

Deconstruction thrives on uncertainty, which is often baffling for newcomers. Applying complex theory to recognisable examples from pop music, TV, film, books and newspapers, Paul Bowman clearly unpicks the ideas of deconstruction. This book shows all students of Cultural Studies how to use deconstruction to read and make sense of culture today.

Spis treści

Acknowledgements.- User Guide: At A Glance.- Introduction: Deconstructing 'the Popular'.- PART 1: Inversion.- Help Me If You Can, I'm Feeling Down: Deconstructing Self-Help.-  Can I help you? Deconstructing(,) Words& Music.- Ghost Dog: The Deconstruction of Identity.- Street Fetishism: Popular Politics and Deconstruction.- PART 2: Displacement.- Counter-Culture versus Counter-Culture.- Other-Wise Popular.- McDeconstruction, the Popular: Deconstructing 'Deconstructing'.- Alterdisciplinarity: Deconstructing Popular Cultural Studies.- Appendix: Supplement: An (Incomplete) Glossary of (Impossible) Terms.- Bibliography.- Index.

O autorze

PAUL BOWMAN is Senior Lecturer in Cultural Studies at Cardiff University. His previous books include Interrogating Cultural Studies, Post-Marxism versus Cultural Studies and The Truth of Žižek.

Blurb

Popular culture permeates every aspect of our lives: from the music we listen to, the films and television shows we watch and the books we read. But who decides what counts as popular culture? Why is it so important? And how do we go about studying it?

This book provides a comprehensive introduction to popular culture and examines the problems and possibilities of studying this fast changing field. Employing a unique approach, Bowman uses techniques of deconstruction to unpick, analyse and deconstruct contemporary examples of popular culture. The book looks at music, Hollywood film and the self-help movement to question claims behind the importance of popular culture and encourage readers to form their own interpretations of the culture they experience every day.

With theory interwoven throughout, but in a way that is barely noticeable to the reader, the book provides covers the important theoretical work in the field, whilst directing the reader through ways to avoid common pitfalls in studying theory. An innovative user guide and glossary explain essential terms and ideas, making difficult concepts relevant, accessible and interesting. This witty, thought-provoking book provides a clear, novel introduction to popular culture for all students of cultural studies, media studies and sociology