Media and Cultural Studies

Editors Kellner (philosophy of education, UCLA) and Durham (journalism and mass communication, U. of Iowa) assert that any single approach to studying the "richness" of media culture is inadequate. Selections cover a spectrum of approaches to cultural studies the editors say will "unlock the domain of meaning, value, politics, and ideology in familiar forms of cultural artifacts and practices." These include 30 articles divided into sections on culture, ideology, and hegemony; social life and cultural studies; political economy; the politics of representation; and the postmodern turn and new media. These thematic divisions are preceded by introductions and include articles reflecting a breadth of historical context and movement such as Marx and Engels's "The Ruling Class and Ruling Ideas," Benjamin's "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction," Debord's "The Commodity as Spectacle." Also featured are articles by Gramsci, McLuhan, Barthes, Adorno, Stuart Hall, bell hooks, and Raymond Williams. Suitable for most university courses in cultural studies. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)


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