Throughout the twentieth century, pop songs, magazine articles, plays, posters, and novels in the United States represented intelligence alternately as empowering or threatening.
A popular sub-genre of fantasy and science fiction, steampunk re-imagines the Victorian age in the future, and re-works its technology, fashion, and values with a dose of anti-modernism.
An amazing journey through the thriving worlds of fantasy and gamingWhat could one man find if he embarked on a journey through fantasy world after fantasy world?
A look at the revolution in game live streaming and esports broadcastingEvery day thousands of people broadcast their gaming live to audiences over the internet using popular sites such as Twitch, which reaches more than one hundred million viewers a month.
A critical history of the social media influencer's rise to global prominenceBefore there were Instagram likes, Twitter hashtags, or TikTok trends, there were bloggers who seemed to have the passion and authenticity that traditional media lacked.
Throughout its history, British television has found a place, if only in its margins, for programmes that consciously worked to expand the boundaries of television aesthetics.
Visitors to Colorados famous ski resorts embrace alpine adventures, luxurious amenities, and a glamorous nightlife, all against a backdrop of towering mountains and high-drifted snow.
Winner: North American Society for Sport History Book AwardIn the 1970s sitcom The Odd Couple, Felix and Oscar argue over a racing greyhound that Oscar won in a bet.
A critical history of the social media influencer's rise to global prominenceBefore there were Instagram likes, Twitter hashtags, or TikTok trends, there were bloggers who seemed to have the passion and authenticity that traditional media lacked.
The classic and provocative account of how art changed irrevocably with pop art and why traditional aesthetics can't make sense of contemporary artA classic of art criticism and philosophy, After the End of Art continues to generate heated debate for its radical and famous assertion that art ended in the 1960s.
An engaging look at the aphorism, the shortest literary form, across time, languages, and culturesAphorisms-or philosophical short sayings-appear everywhere, from Confucius to Twitter, the Buddha to the Bible, Heraclitus to Nietzsche.
A "e;witty, irresistible"e; account of Jane Austen's most zealously devoted fans and their lively literary community (Lan Samantha Chang, author of The Family Chao).
A firsthand look at efforts to improve diversity in software and hackerspace communitiesHacking, as a mode of technical and cultural production, is commonly celebrated for its extraordinary freedoms of creation and circulation.
Comic Books Incorporated tells the story of the US comic book business, reframing the history of the medium through an industrial and transmedial lens.
Manel Baucells and Rakesh Sarin have been conducting ground-breaking research on happiness for more than a decade, and in this book they distill their provocative findings into a lively, accessible guide for a wide audience of readers.
Sociologist Ashley Mears takes us behind the brightly lit runways and glossy advertisements of the fashion industry in this insider's study of the world of modeling.
A rollicking debut book of essays that takes readers on a trip through the muck of American myths that have settled in the desert of our country's underbellyEarly on July 16, 1945, Joshua Wheeler's great grandfather awoke to a flash, and then a long rumble: the world's first atomic blast filled the horizon north of his ranch in Alamogordo, New Mexico.
This three-volume reference set explores the history, relevance, and significance of pop culture locations in the United States-places that have captured the imagination of the American people and reflect the diversity of the nation.
A critical exploration of the ways public participation has transformed commemoration and civic engagement in the United StatesIn the last three decades ordinary Americans launched numerous grassroots commemorations and official historical institutions became more open to popular participation.
NPR Best Books of 2017In this sweeping history of popular music in the United States, NPR's acclaimed music critic examines how popular music shapes fundamental American ideas and beliefs, allowing us to communicate difficult emotions and truths about our most fraught social issues, most notably sex and race.
Winner of the 2017 Eisner Award in the Best Academic/Scholarly Work category2017 Prose Awards Honorable Mention, Media & Cultural StudiesOver the last 75 years, superheroes have been portrayed most often as male, heterosexual, white, and able-bodied.
Winner of the 2017 Eisner Award in the Best Academic/Scholarly Work category2017 Prose Awards Honorable Mention, Media & Cultural StudiesOver the last 75 years, superheroes have been portrayed most often as male, heterosexual, white, and able-bodied.
New York Times, Spin, and Vanity Fair contributor Marc Spitz explores the first great cultural movement since Hip Hop: an old-fashioned and yet highly modern aesthetic that's embraced internationally by teens, twenty and thirty-somethings and even some Baby Boomers; creating hybrid generation known as Twee.
