Thomas Swiss is Humanities Endowment Professor of English and Associate Chair at Drake University. He is a published poet and literary critic with works appearing in" The New York Times Book Review, Iowa Review" and the" American Scholar." Andrew Herman is Assistant Professor of Sociology at Drake University. He specializes in the study of popular culture and society. John M. Sloop is Assistant Professor of Communication Studies at Vanderbilt University. His interests include cultural representation in the media, music and cyberspace.