Sixty-two illustrations make the personalities interests and media of each decade come alive for students of history, literature and popular culture."--Jacket.

Teenage girls seem to have been discovered by American pop culture in the 1930s. From that time until the present day, they have appeared in books and films, comics and television, as the embodied fantasies and nightmares of youth, women, and sexual maturation. Looking at such figures as Nancy Drew, Judy Graves, Corliss Archer, Gidget, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Britney Spears, American Sweethearts shows how popular culture has shaped our view of the adolescent girl as an individual who is simultaneously sexualized and infantilized. While young women have received some positive lessons from these cultural icons, the overwhelming message conveyed by the characters and stories they inhabit stresses the dominance of the father and the teenage girl's otherness, subordination, and ineptitude. As sweet as a cherry lollipop and as tangy as a Sweetart, this book is an entertaining yet thoughtful exploration of the image of the American girl.

In their introduction, "Angels of History, Demons of History," the editors allude to the complex social anxieties projected into concerns about youth. Contributors examine the problems of identity, juvenile delinquency, intergenerational tensions, and downward mobility, as well as more positive aspects of youth culture (art, activism, and cyber-communities)--in the early 20th century, the World War II/postwar era, and the contemporary scene. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Girls series books have been popular since the early 1840s, when books about Cousin Lucy, a young girl who learns about the world around her, first appeared. Since then, scores of series books have followed, several of them highly successful, and featuring some of the most enduring characters in fiction, such as Nancy Drew. In recent decades, series books like The Baby-Sitters Club and Sweet Valley High have become staples for young readers everywhere. In Sisters, Schoolgirls, and Sleuths: Girls' Series Books in America, Carolyn Carpan provides a social history of girls' series fiction published in America from the mid-19th century through the early 21st century. Carpan examines popular series, subgenres, themes, and characters found in approximately 100 series, noting how teenage girls are portrayed in girls' series fiction and how girls' series reflect or subvert the culture of the era in which they are produced. Her study also focuses on the creation, writing, and production of such books. This is the first study of American girls' series books to examine the entire genre from its beginnings in the 1840s to the present day, revealing facts about a sub-genre of children's and young adult literature that has rarely been studied. Appendixes in this volume include a listing of the girls' series covered in the book as well as important books about girls' series fiction.

Giving yesterday's words another chance to sparkle before they retire to the archives for good, Dewdroppers, Waldos, and Slackers focuses on language that still resonates with the mood of its times.

Covering significant historical and cultural moments, public figures and celebrities, art and entertainment, and technology that influenced life during the decade, this book documents the 1950s through the lens of popular culture. On the surface, the 1950s was a time of post-war prosperity and abundance. However, in spite of a relaxation of immigration policies, the "good life" in the 50s was mainly confined to white non-ethnic Americans. A new Cold War with the Soviet Union intended to contain the threat of Communism, and the resulting red scare tinged the experience of all U.S. citizens during the decade. This book examines the key trends, people, and movements of the 1950s and inspects them within a larger cultural and social context. By highlighting controversies in the decade, readers will gain a better understanding of the social values and thinking of the time. The examination of the individuals who influenced American culture in the 1950s enables students to gauge the tension between established norms of conformity and those figures that used pop culture as a broad avenue for change—either intentionally, or by accident.

When did the sexual revolution happen? Most Americans would probably say the 1960s. In reality, young couples were changing the rules of public and private life for decades before. By the early years of the twentieth century, teenagers were increasingly free of adult supervision, and taking control of their sexuality in many ways. Dating, going steady, necking, petting, and cohabiting all provoked adult hand-wringing and advice, most of it ignored. By the time the media began announcing the arrival of a ‘sexual revolution,’ it had been going on for half a century. Youth and Sexuality in the Twentieth-Century United States tells this story with fascinating revelations from both personal writings and scientific sex research. John C. Spurlock follows the major changes in the sex lives of American youth across the entire century, considering how dramatic revolutions in the culture of sex affected not only heterosexual relationships, but also gay and lesbian youth, and same-sex friendships. The dark side of sex is also covered, with discussion of the painful realities of sexual violence and coercion in the lives of many young people. Full of details from first-person accounts, this lively and accessible history is essential for anyone interested in American youth and sexuality.