Surveying a range of topics, this lively and informative survey provides an up-to-date, thematic global history of popular culture focusing on the period since the end of the Second World War.

With Amusement for All contextualizes what Americans have done for fun since 1830, showing the reciprocal nature of the relationships among social, political, economic, and cultural forces and the ways in which the entertainment world has reflected, changed, or reinforced the values of American society.

The history of the study of popular culture in American academic since its (re)introduction in 1967 is filled with misunderstanding and opposition. From the first, proponents of the study of this major portion of american culture made clear that they were interested in making popular culture a supplement to the usual courses in such fields as literature, sociology, history, philosophy, and the other humanities and social sciences; nobody proposed that study of popular culture replace the other disciplines, but many suggested that it was time to reexamine the accepted courses and see if they were still viable. Opposition to the status quo always causes anxiety and oppostion, but when the issues are clarified, often oppoosition and anxiety melt away, as they are now doing.

Popular Culture: A User’s Guide, International Edition ventures beyond the history of pop culture to give readers the vocabulary and tools to address and analyze the contemporary cultural landscape that surrounds them. Moves beyond the history of pop culture to give students the vocabulary and tools to analyze popular culture suitable for the study of popular culture across a range of disciplines, from literary theory and cultural studies to philosophy and sociology Covers a broad range of important topics including the underlying socioeconomic structures that affect media, the politics of pop culture, the role of consumers, subcultures and countercultures, and the construction of social reality Examines the ways in which individuals and societies act as consumers and agents of popular culture

The second edition of Popular Culture in American History updates the text for a contemporary readership and explores academic developments in this area of study over the last decade. Fully revised second edition with over 50 percent new material Compact and classroom-friendly format Includes the best writing on popular culture from the 1970s onwards Essays examine pivotal moments, issues, and genres in American popular culture, from the ‘penny press’ to the Internet

MAJOR PROBLEMS IN AMERICAN POPULAR CULTURE, International Edition is part of a highly respected series of edited collections of primary documents and scholarly essays designed for use in history courses at the undergraduate level. The basic goal of these texts is to provide students and instructors with the most distinguished, readable, and stimulating writing available: essays centered on major historical questions, complemented by related primary source materials.

The first introductory textbook to situate popular culture studies in the United States as an academic discipline with its own history and approach to examining American culture, its rituals, beliefs, and the objects that shape its existence.