Introduction to Theories of Popular Culture

What's popular about popular culture? Can we say popular culture is good or bad? How have theorists tried to make sense of popular culture? An Introduction to Theories of Popular Culture is widely recognised as an immensely useful textbook for students taking courses in the major theories of popular culture. Strinati provides a critical assessment of the ways in which these theories have tried to understand and evaluate popular culture in modern societies. Among the theories and ideas the book introduces are mann culture, the Frankfurt School and the culture industry, semiology and structuralism, Marxism, feminism, postmodernism and cultural populism. This new edition provides fresh material on Marxism and feminism, while a new final chapter assesses the significance of the theories explained in the book.

1 Mass culture and popular culture 2 The Frankfurt School and the culture industry 3 Structralism, semiology and popular culture 4 Marxism, political economy and ideology 5 Feminism and popular culture 6 Postmodernism and popular culture