Introduction to Popular Culture

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
INTRODUCTION: A NOTE TO EDUCATORS

CHAPTER 1:  THE CONCEPT OF THE TEXT AND THEORIES OF INTERPRETATION
Cultural Studies: The Beginnings
Psychology
Economics
Sociology
Religious Studies
Existential Interpretation
Feminism: Sexuality and Gender
Race and Queer Theory
Memetics
Structuralism
Post-Structuralism
Postmodernism
Posthumanism
Bibliography and Further Reading

CHAPTER 2: AESTHETICS
Realism
Expressionism
Formalism
Contextualism
Genres
Taste
Kitsch
Camp
Summing Up

CHAPTER 3:  HORROR, SCIENCE FICTION, AND SUPERHEROES
Horror
Really Bad People
Science Fiction
Superheroes
Further Reading and Sources

CHAPTER 4: HUMOR AND COMEDY
Definition and Origin
Theories of Humor
Subgenres of Comedy
The Ethics of Comedy: To Laugh or Not to Laugh
Summary

CHAPTER 5: SPORTS AND POPULAR CULTURE
Football
Baseball
Golf
Hockey
Soccer
Conclusion

CHAPTER 6:  TECHNOLOGY AND POPULAR CULTURE
Facebook
The iPad and The Kindle: Making Computing More Personal
The iPod and File Sharing
Sex and Technology
Video Games
Changing the Way We Live

CHAPTER 7:  COMPARATIVE POPULAR CULTURE
China
Japan
India
Jihad vs. McWorld
Bibliography and Further Reading

GLOSSARY
INDEX