La cultura es un fenómeno muy dinámico, cambiante y sujeto a múltiples interpretaciones. Esto provoca que, en muchas ocasiones, las afirmaciones y los debates sobre la cultura tengan un carácter ambiguo y confuso. En este sentido, las ciencias sociales han desarrollado teorías y nociones que pretenden aclarar los límites y contenidos del concepto de cultura y las relaciones con los ámbitos social, económico o político. Asimismo, las relaciones entre la cultura y la sociedad tampoco son estables y han cambiado de forma considerable desde los primeros análisis de las ciencias sociales en el siglo XIX hasta la actualidad. Por lo tanto, es necesario establecer las diferentes etapas y características que marcan los usos y las interpretaciones sociales de la cultura. El presente libro pretende ser una introducción a la compleja cuestión del papel de la cultura en la sociedad contemporánea. Para ello, se analizan las principales transformaciones en el consumo y las prácticas culturales en la era digital, proporcionando al lector las teorías, conceptos y estudios de caso necesarios para comprender las dinámicas culturales y creativas en su pluralidad, desde la alta cultura característica de la modernidad hasta los fenómenos virales de internet.

This study reveals the complex combination of cultural particularity and modern universality that underlies the reality of contemporary Japan. The work uses sources such as popular works of art, song, best-selling books and the advice columns of newspapers to draw a striking portrait of the Japanese public. Focussing on the four main phases of modernizing and modernized Japan beginning in the nineteenth century and continuing to today’s postmodern society, this groundbreaking work uses quantitative and qualitative data to show that the processes of modernization brought a coexistence of generational variation imbued with tensions, conflicts and synergies, that, taken together, provide the key to understanding the structure and dynamism of contemporary Japan.

El mundo hispanohablante contemporáneo: historia, política, sociedades y culturas is a comprehensive and innovative book for advanced students of Spanish. Offering a constructivist approach to the study of the civilizations, cultures and histories of the contemporary Spanish-speaking world, the book focuses on learning as an active process that enables learners to develop high-level critical thinking skills through the exposure, research, examination and discussion of a variety of authentic films, songs and literary texts. Divided into twelve chapters, each chapter begins with an introduction to the general topic followed by various activities that lead students to critically analyse a range of authentic materials. Learners are able to practice higher level critical-thinking and linguistic skills through a wealth of tasks and exercises which culminate in a capstone section that requires the application of the concepts learned and sources utilized throughout the lesson. El mundo hispanohablante contemporáneo: historia, política, sociedades y culturas offers great flexibility and adaptability to suit advanced courses in Hispanic culture and civilization. Each chapter is methodologically designed with a balanced mix of activities for individual and teamwork. Additional resources are available online for both instructors and students. These include an instructor’s guide with answer key, a grammar supplement and links to the authentic materials referenced within the book.