Popular culture Books

Book SynopsisDrawing across Games Studies, Childhood Studies, and Children’s Literature Studies, this book redirects critical conversations away from questions of whether videogames are ‘good’ or ‘bad’ for child-players and towards questions of how videogames produce childhood as a set of social roles and rules in contemporary Western contexts. It does so by cataloguing and critiquing representations of childhood across a corpus of over 500 contemporary videogames. While child-players are frequently the topic of academic debate – particularly within the fields of psychology, behavioural science, and education research - child-characters in videogames are all but invisible. This book's aim is to make these child-characters not only visible, but legible, and to demonstrate that coded kids in virtual worlds can shed light on how and why the boundaries between adults and children are shifting. Table of ContentsChapter One: Dreaming the Myth Onwards - A Seat at the Kid’s Table - Childish Violence and Violent Children - Adult Joy - Destabilising Age-Based Identities - Chapter Overview Chapter Two: A Survey of Child-Characters in Contemporary Videogames - The Invisible Child - The Invincible Child - Playable Child-Characters - Central, Supporting, Background - Age, Race, Gender - Supporting Child-Characters - Death - Child-Antagonists - A Shared Shorthand - Approaches to Generating a Taxonomies of Child-Characters - Laying Bare the Faults - Critical Ekphrasis Chapter Three: The Child as a Social Construct - Coded Kids - Boy or Blob? - History of The Child - Who Thinks Beating a Child is Entertainment? - Misogyny and Infantilisation Chapter Four: Child Killers and Killer Children - Agency and Eeriness - Little Monsters - Authority and Autonomy - The Waif as an Indecipherable Cipher - Who Won? - Stereotyping as Conditioning Chapter Five: Child Heroes - An Unheroic Medium? - The Spaces Between Oppositions - It’s Dangerous to Go Alone - The Child Hero - An Inventory System Theory of Fiction - Symbiotes and Parasites Chapter Six: Plushies, Dollies, and Action Figurines - Cuddly Code - The Cute-Aggression Response - Playgrounds of Cruelty - Sensory Nostalgia as an Unscratchable Itch - Spectral Nostalgia - Intergenerational Bridges - A Distant Someplace Else - Childhood as a Magic Circle of Play Chapter Seven: The Kid in the Fridge - The Sacrificial Child - Types of Child Death - Affection, Anxiety, and Agency - Violent Retribution and the Hardness of Masculinity - Lights, Child Death, Action - Damn You, Ubisoft - The Case of Kassandra

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Book SynopsisThis book defines a straightforward way to analyse fictional characters through data. It shows how a data-led approach can produce rich analyses of characters, their surrounding storyworlds, and their authors across time and different types of media. It uses the Marvel Comics’ character, Doctor Doom as its main case study, and demonstrates the advantages of this approach by comparing the results to those taken from a survey of fan attitudes. It also uses the methodology to analyse the differences between the American and British characters who share the name "Dennis The Menace". Finally, it offers a range of further uses for the tool. All datasets and tools are made available to download, so that other researchers can use the methodology and compare their own results to those generated in the book.Table of ContentsIntroduction Methodology The corpus and sample Analysis A Tale Of Two Menaces Discussion Bibliography Appendix One: Using the unified model of transmedia character coherence Appendix Two: Doctor Doom Corpus Appendix Three: Example of signifier survey

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Book SynopsisDespite the increasing number of gamers worldwide, the moral classification of computer gaming marks an as yet unsolved riddle of philosophical ethics. In view of the explosive nature of the topic in everyday life (as seen in various debates about rampages), it is obvious that a differentiated professional clarification of the phenomenon is needed: Can playing computer games be immoral?To answer this question, the author first discusses what we do at all when we play computer games: What kind of action are we talking about? The second step is a moral classification that reveals whether (and if so, why) some cases of computer gaming are morally problematic. The considerations made here provide a fundamental insight into the normative dimension of computer gaming. Samuel Ulbricht studied philosophy and German studies in Stuttgart, where he passed his first state examination. He completed his second state examination in Heidelberg. For his final thesis on the ethics of computer gaming, he received the "Prize of the Friends of the University of Stuttgart". His current research focuses on normative differences in moral theories, problem areas in applied ethics, the aesthetics and ethics of computer games and the ethics of education and teaching. He currently works at the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz.This book is a translation of the original German 1st edition Ethik des Computerspielens by Samuel Ulbricht, published by J.B. Metzler, an imprint of Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature in 2020. The translation was done with the help of artificial intelligence (machine translation by the service DeepL.com). A subsequent human revision was done primarily in terms of content, so that the book will read stylistically differently from a conventional translation. Springer Nature works continuously to further the development of tools for the production of books and on the related technologies to support the authors.Trade Review“The publication clearly contributes to the discourse in question and should certainly be read not only by students but also by educators involved in game studies. It may be a useful supplement to courses that deal with the ethical aspects of games, but it may also be of benefit to philosophers who wish to bring an up-to-date context to their studies or teaching.” (Magdaléna Švecová, Acta Ludologica, Vol. 5 (2), December, 2022)“A major strength of Ethics of Computer Gaming is in the holistic nature of Ulbricht’s analysis … . This book will prove an interesting addition to researchers interested in the ethical implications of videogames, as its conclusions are not necessarily congruent with other theorists.” (Rebecca Grose, Press Start, press-start.gla.ac.uk, Vol. 9 (1), 2023)Table of ContentsPreface.- What computer games are.- Computer games as action.- Ethics of computer games.- Concluding remarks.- List of sources.- Glossary.

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Book SynopsisThe book provides unique insights into the culture of computer-mediated hospitality and how this has begun to transform contemporary tourism and travel practice. Focusing on Couchsurfing.org, one of the largest online hospitality communities worldwide, the authors explore how social relations, intimacy and trust are built in the online environment and then extended into the offline contexts of actual tourism and travel. Being active couchsurfers themselves, the authors scrutinise the candid claim by much of the online hospitality community that couchsurfing creates a "better world". The book is key reading for anyone interested in how computer mediated communication is changing contemporary forms of contact, travel and hospitality, and the kinds of cosmopolitism it brings into being.Authors: David Picard, Sonja Buchberger, Jennie Germann Molz, Dennis Zuev, De-Jung Chen, Bernard Schéou, Jun-E Tan, Paula Bialski and Nelson Graburn.Trade Review"[The book] exhaustively covers multiple topics with high contemporary relevance ina very accessible way." Anastasiya Astapova, H-Net-Reviews, 4 (2014) "The various experiences as hosts and guests plus nine different writing styles make the book a varied reading. Following the authors experiences, the results of their studies are sometimes presented as interested facts nearby; hence it is not like reading an academic paper but fun and informative. Moreover it makes the book accessible for a broader audience and allows an ongoing exchange between academic and current discussions." Paula Salomo, www.urbanophil.net, 08.08.2013 "Being skillfully written, making use of a narrative approach, and enriched by exciting and originial chapters 'Couchsurfing Cosmopolitanism' is a recommanded read for those who are eager to delve deeper and better understand the phenomenon of promoting cosmopolitanism as a desire for and openess to difference." Variety Fair, 7 (2014)

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Book SynopsisWhy do certain works of art make it into the canon while others just enjoy a brief moment of recognition, if at all? How do moments produce monuments, and why are monuments erased from our cultural memory in only a moment? - Taking into account these cultural processes of creating, storing, remembering and forgetting that are omnipresent and have an immense influence on how we perceive artefacts and cultural events, the articles in this collection analyze the phenomenon of cultural production, transmission and reception from various angles, drawing on approaches from both literary and cultural studies. With its transdisciplinary approach, this book uniquely responds to an everyday cultural phenomenon that so far has not received such wide-ranging attention.

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Book SynopsisSet your manga characters in motion! Draw Amazing Manga Characters combines the strengths, talents, and perspectives of five different manga artists over 81 lessons that increase in detail and complexity. Key building blocks allow you to progress as you move through the book and "Take a Closer Look" sidebars offer tips so developing artists can avoid frustrating obstacles and roadblocks.This essential handbook shows you how to: Draw action characters from every possible angle, perspective, and viewpoint Progress logically from concept to character and from sketch to finished drawing Create well-balanced and proportioned characters to tell your story Create scenes with real depth and three-dimensional appeal The illustrators guide you through an easy four-step figure drawing process:1. Block-in the basic shapes, using the techniques of figure drawing to set down the rough outline of your character2. Sketch in the formal details, as your creation starts to take on form and shape3. Now it's time to lay down the next layers of features and tweaks that will make your character come to life4. Finally the finishing touches, the shading and nuances that add depth, complexity and three-dimensional appeal…Now look what's sprung to life on the page—your very own manga character!

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Book SynopsisA selection of works spanning more than 10 years, highlighting some of author Anthony Coleman's favorite characters from cartoons to pop stars.I Like Drawing is part of Blurring Books' new series of publications, Limited Slim Publications.

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Book SynopsisIn No Apologies, Katherine Brodsky argues that it’s time for principled individuals to hit the unmute button and resist the authoritarians among us who name, shame, and punish. Recognizing that speaking authentically is easier said than done, she spent two years researching and interviewing those who have been subjected to public harassment and abuse for daring to transgress the new orthodoxy or criticize a new taboo. While she found that some of these individuals navigated the outrage mob better than others, and some suffered worse personal and professional effects than others, all of the individuals with whom she spoke remain unapologetic over their choice to express themselves authentically. In sharing their stories, which span the arts, education, journalism, and science, Brodsky uncovers lessons for all of us in the silenced majority to push back against the dangerous illiberalism of the vocal minority that tolerates no dissent— and to find and free our own voices.

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Book SynopsisIn The Cancer Plot, Reginald Wiebe and Dorothy Woodman examine the striking presence of cancer in Marvel comics. Engaging comics studies, medical humanities, and graphic medicine, they explore this disease in four case studies: Captain Marvel, Spider-Man, Thor, and Deadpool. Cancer, the authors argue, troubles the binaries of good and evil because it is the ultimate nemesis within a genre replete with magic, mutants, and multiverses. They draw from gender theory, disability studies, and cultural theory to demonstrate how cancer in comics enables an examination of power and responsibility, key terms in Marvel’s superhero universe. As the only full-length study on cancer in the Marvel universe, The Cancer Plot is an appealing and original work that will be of interest to scholars across the humanities, particularly those working in the health humanities, cultural theory, and literature, as well as avid comics readers.Trade Review“Wiebe and Woodman take on a fascinating subject: the representation and significance of cancer in Marvel comics. They explore the paradox of cancer: how in a fantasy setting of extraordinary diversity and ‘miraculous’ feats, it alone remains immune from all cures -- a sort of zero-degree realism which vouchsafes the genre’s connection to the real world.” José Alaniz, University of Washington, author of Death, Disability, and the Superhero: The Silver Age and Beyond“The Cancer Plot gives an incisive and engaging analysis of the prevalence of cancer in Marvel comics with specific attention to how the representation of disease in these works enables an examination of power as it relates to citizenship and civic duty. This is a timely study that will enrich readers' understanding of the complexities of storytelling in this genre.” Kelly McGuire, Trent University"Through those case studies and others—as well as their broader observations about the Marvel universe and the superhero genre—Wiebe and Woodman give readers much to contemplate.... They explore the social meaning of health and sickness both in the stories themselves and the world at large, revealing that behind the masks and alter egos, many of Marvel’s characters can tell us a lot about ourselves. The result should convince more than a few readers that we should leave plenty of room for superhumans in the medical humanities." Matt Peters, Graphic Medicine, November 16, 2023 [Full article at https://www.graphicmedicine.org/comic-reviews/the-cancer-plot-terminal-immortality-in-marvels-moral-universe]Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction: But I Don’t Want to Cure Cancer I Bodies, Cancer, and Death Editor’s Note 1 | Death and Cancer: Immortality and the Problem of Limits 2 | Living with Cancer: Medical Narratives and Superheroes II Cancer, Power, and Responsibility: Exploring Four Superhero Stories Editor’s Note / The Death of Captain Marvel 3 | This Whole Business of Death: Cancer and Captain Marvel Editor’s Note / Ultimate Spider-Man 4 | Cure as Poison: Cancer and Spider-Man’s Moral Battle Editor’s Note / The Mighty Thor 5 | Cancer as Fatal Opportunity: Thor and the Question of Worthiness Editor’s Note / The Despicable Deadpool 6 | “Welcome to the Freak Show!”: Deadpool and Perpetual Remission Conclusion: The End That Is Not the End Appendix 1 Marvel Characters 1.1 Marvel characters who have had cancer but did not die of it 1.2 Marvel characters who have had cancer and died of it 1.3 Marvel characters who have had cancer and died attempting to cure it or destroy their enemies before succumbing to it 1.4 Marvel cancer deaths by decade Appendix 2 DC Characters 2.1 DC characters who have had cancer 2.2 DC characters with an unnamed terminal condition 2.3 DC cancer and terminal condition by decade Notes Works Cited Index

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Book SynopsisEmerging forms of alternative economic frameworks are changing the structure of society, redefining the relationship between centre and periphery, and the social dynamics in the urban fabric. In this context, the arts can play a crucial role in formulating a concept of complex and plural citizenship: This economic, social and cultural paradigm has the potential to overcome the conventional isolation of the arts and culture in ivory towers, and thereby to gradually make the urban fabric more fertile. This volume faces such sensitive issues by collating contributions from various disciplines: Economists, sociologists, urbanists, architects and creative artists offer a broad and deep assessment of urban dynamics and their visions for the years to come.

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Book SynopsisThis book is about all of the parts of the Twilight Saga (books and movies) that make up the very complex love/hate relationship that the Twilight fandom has toward Stephenie Meyer, her books, and the subsequent movies. The fandom itself will also be examined as an excellent example of a community grappling with and trying to reclaim problematic media as opposed to cancelling it.

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Book SynopsisBeyond newspapers, television, and social networks, media are the means by which any information is shared, from antique graffiti to playlists on Spotify. Cultures are held together as much by bookkeeping and records as they are by stories and myths. From Big Bang to Big Data shows how every society has been a media society, in its own way.Trade Review“The big-history approach to media we’ve been missing. Cosmopolitan in intellectual outlook and integrated in argument, From Big Bang to Big Data moves along briskly. Any curious reader will enjoy this book, while the clued-in scholarly reader will spot sentences and paragraphs that index whole traditions of complex argument.” John Durham Peters, co-author of Promiscuous Knowledge: Information, Image, and Other Truth Games in History“This book is big, not just in size but in scope. How else might one characterize a book that opens with the beginning of time and then impressively winds its way through Arabia, China, and medieval Europe to finish with a chapter on digital media and big data? ... the book’s focus is somewhat unique to media history texts in that it focuses not on chronology but on implications, i.e., the transformations that have shaped society and people's acquisition of meaning from whatever platform a media producer chooses. The book makes readers think and is also richly illustrated to help guide such thoughts. Media theorist Neil Postman once said that 'for every advantage a new technology offers, there is always a corresponding disadvantage.' This book reinforces that theory. Highly recommended." Choice

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Book SynopsisMamie Smith''s 1920 recording of ''Crazy Blues'' is commonly thought to signify the beginning of commercial attention to blues music and culture, but by that year more than 450 other blues titles had already appeared in sheet music and on recordings. In this examination of early popular blues, Peter C. Muir traces the genre''s early history and the highly creative interplay between folk and popular forms, focusing especially on the roles W. C. Handy played in both blues music and the music business. Long Lost Blues exposes for the first time the full scope and importance of early popular blues to mainstream American culture in the early twentieth century. Closely analyzing sheet music and other print sources that have previously gone unexamined, Muir revises our understanding of the evolution and sociology of blues at its inception.Trade ReviewReceived a Certificate of Merit in the Best Music History category from the Association for Recorded Sound Collections (ARSC), 2011. "Required reading for lovers of the blues and historians of American popular music."--Notes"One of the most important and original books on blues to be published in the past decade."--The Journal of Southern History, David Evans"Muir's revealing book contributes significantly to understanding how sheet music and the pop music industry influenced the blues. An important work."--Tim Brooks, author of Lost Sounds: Blacks and the Birth of the Recording Industry, 1890-1919"This fascinating work discusses the genesis and introduction of a minority music genre into mainstream culture in a way that is impossible to ignore, given the importance of blues connections to other genres. Essential reading for anyone interested in American popular music."--Dick Spottswood, host of The Dick Spottswood Show on BlueGrassCountry.org and editor of Ethnic Music on RecordsTable of ContentsAcknowledgments ix A Word about the Music Examples xi Introduction 1 1. The Popular Blues Industry, 1912-1920 7 2. The Identity and Idiom of Early Popular Blues 28 3. Curing the Blues with the Blues 80 4. The Blues of W. C. Handy 104 5. The Creativity of Early Southern Published Blues 141 6. Published Proto-Blues and the Evolution of the Twelve-Bar Sequence 181 Appendix: Titular Blues, 1912-1915 217 Notes 221 Major Works Consulted 243 General Index 245 Song Index 251

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewEmily Toth Award for Best Single Work by One or More Authors in Women's Studies, Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association (PCA/ACA), 2016 Finalist, 28th Annual Lambda Literary Awards, LGBT Studies, 2016 Alan Bray Memorial Book Award, GL/Q Caucus of the Modern Language Association, 2016 "Funk the Erotic opens a new avenue in black thought and feeling, one dis/oriented by the sensorium rather than the cerebrum."--Feminist Wire"Funk the Erotic is a groundbreaking work in its scope, its methodological breadth, and the creativity and originality of the ideas in introduces into several discourses. In theorizing funk as a specifically erotic, bodily, and embodiable hermeneutic for understanding sexuality across mediums and genres, Stallings proposes exciting shifts in black feminist, performance studies, sexuality studies, and literary studies methodologies."--American Quarterly "Stallings reframes Black (female) sexualities for us in a fashion that moves us closer to recognizing and thinking it as a form of freedom in its practice."--Rinaldo Walcott, author of Black Like Who?: Writing Black Canada"Where Toni Morrison theorized 'eruptions of funk' in African American literature, this book funks the erotic taking up trans politics, nineteenth-century freaks, funky beats, and other queerly sexed subjects that make up 'profane sites of memory.'"--Jennifer Brody, author of Punctuation: Art, Politics, and Play"Funk the Erotic is a passionately delivered and urgently necessary analysis of black sexuality, literature, and popular culture. By reading the 'funky erotixxx' of black sexual cultures against the dominant trends in black studies, L. H. Stallings offers us an alternative archive of African American literature, one composed of forgotten novels, sex manuals, YouTube videos, adult magazines, and so much more. Funk the Erotic is a bold, brilliant, unapologetically superfreaky text."--Erica R. Edwards, author of Charisma and the Fictions of Black Leadership

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Book SynopsisNostalgia, supposedly, is the sphere of the sentimentalist. But also, and most definitely, it is a force in the creation of the present and future and thus worth careful thought. Yesterday argues that nostalgia’s critics defend an idea of progress as naïve as the longing they denounce, while conflating nostalgia itself with historical whitewashing.Trade ReviewDespite the scorn that electoral politics may profess toward nostalgia, we practice it culturally all the time. Yesterday takes us through endless artistic revivals throughout the past half century, a period during which, as technology frog-marched us into the future, we kept a constant backward glance. -- Thomas Mallon * New Yorker *[Yesterday] begins by charting the evolution of the concept of nostalgia, from its genesis as a medical diagnosis related to homesickness to a more abstract yearning for a rosier past to one of its many current usages, as an insult levied at anyone believed to be an opponent of progress. But by the end, Yesterday stands as a profound statement about how humans exist in time and live with the past. -- Joe Keohane * Boston Globe *Offers an insightful and erudite deflation of nostalgia in popular culture. -- Andrew Stark * Wall Street Journal *The range of social, political and cultural phenomena covered is impressive and the author’s reconstructions of them absorbing. -- Scott McLemee * Inside Higher Education *An elegant, original, enjoyable, and important investigation of the concept of nostalgia and its power. From Paul McCartney’s ‘Yesterday’ to Dua Lipa’s ‘Future Nostalgia,’ Becker shows that the ‘problem’ with nostalgia has never been the peculiar ways it engages with the past. Instead, it is the way nostalgia contests assumptions about progress. After Yesterday, nostalgia really isn’t what it used to be. -- Ethan Kleinberg, Wesleyan UniversitySha Na Na performed ‘At the Hop’ at Woodstock, six months to the day after the inauguration of the new law-and-order president, Richard Nixon. In his wide-ranging yet incisive book, Tobias Becker explains how two such disparate events could seem to belong to a single history of ‘nostalgia.’ -- Peter Fritzsche, University of IllinoisWith nostalgia seemingly everywhere these days, this history of the concept since the mid-twentieth century hits the spot. Its exploration of pop culture is particularly fascinating: refuting critics who see retro revivals as signs of cultural stagnation, Becker shows that nostalgia has been a source of creative inspiration since the 1960s. -- Julia Sneeringer, Queens College and the CUNY Graduate CenterWestern cultural critics have been lamenting our loss of optimism and our obsession with the past ever since the 1970s. Why? In his lucid history of arguments about nostalgia, Tobias Becker reveals their unacknowledged clinging to the idea of progress, an idea we seem unable to overcome. -- Philipp Felsch, Humboldt University of Berlin

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Book SynopsisLiner Notes for the Revolution offers a startling new perspective on Black women musicians from Bessie Smith to Beyoncé. Informed by the overlooked contributions of women who wrote about the blues, rock, and pop, Daphne A. Brooks argues that acclaimed entertainers have also been radical intellectuals, challenging the culture industry to catch up.Trade ReviewBrooks traces all kinds of lines, finding unexpected points of connection…inviting voices to talk to one another, seeing what different perspectives can offer, opening up new ways of looking and listening by tracing lineages and calling for more space. * New York Times *Daphne Brooks has written a gloriously polyphonic book. Moving through the tumult of the twentieth century and the millennium, she scores, archives, and curates the history of Black woman musicians and their radical modernities, all created in a culture that presumed they had no voices or minds. What did they do to be so Black, brilliant, and blue? Listen. And read on. -- Margo Jefferson, author of the National Book Critics Circle Award–winning NegrolandBrooks takes on a wide-ranging study of Black female artists, from elders like Bessie Smith and Ethel Waters to Beyoncé and Janelle Monáe. But she reaches far beyond music, exploring writers like Zora Neale Hurston and Pauline Hopkins…Liner Notes is a secret history…connecting the sonic worlds of Black female mythmakers and truth-tellers. -- Rob Sheffield * Rolling Stone *Brooks moves deftly between eras, from early-twentieth-century blues and vaudeville to Lemonade-era Beyoncé…In articulating the intellectual labor of so many Black women artists—unknown, ‘undertheorized,’ or both—she implicitly acknowledges those who, for whatever reason, didn’t make it into the capital-A archive, but whose contributions surround us nonetheless…Liner Notes is a loud warning shot: seeing Black women everywhere is not the same as seeing Black women. -- Rawiya Kameir * Bookforum *Takes on the weighty task of sifting through more than a century’s worth of music history, cultural criticism and long forgotten archives to explore the revolutionary practices of Black women musicians…Brooks is effusive in her belief that not only did these women exist in spaces previously thought to be exclusively white, she suggests their impact can be felt in all spheres of music today. -- Stephanie Phillips * The Wire *A passionate book, written with a vigorous confidence…Brooks’s command of history and her reading are broad and deep…Instinct says there is a large audience that is not only sympathetic to what she has to say but would be charged up by Brooks’s ideas, that would hear in the music what Brooks hears. -- George Grella * Brooklyn Rail *Effortlessly poetic, deeply historical, and insistently imaginative, Liner Notes for the Revolution doesn’t merely give voice to unheeded and crucial innovators; it offers a new method for approaching music history itself. -- Ann Powers, author of Good BootyDaphne Brooks’s brilliant evocation of what gets lost when women of color don’t speak, let alone sing, is one of the most moving testaments to the power of silence, and what breaking that silence means, that I have ever read. Vivid, joyful, and heartbreaking in its passionate understanding of soul in all its manifestations, Liner Notes for the Revolution is itself a new kind of music: propulsive, witty, wise, and true. -- Hilton Als, author of White GirlsFor Daphne Brooks, black feminist sound is sensuous thought. In Liner Notes for the Revolution, she feels and shows and says this with such devotion, such critical and emotional intelligence, such archival commitment and dexterity, and such urgent social aspiration that listening itself is new again. -- Fred Moten, author of All That BeautyLiner Notes for the Revolution is a groundbreaking and breathtaking volume from one of our leading cultural historians that will forever change the way we write and think about American culture. Daphne Brooks insists upon the genius of Black women music-makers, listeners, and critics. This transformative work of intellectual generosity is sure to join the ranks of classic works such as Amiri Baraka’s Blues People and Greil Marcus’s Lipstick Traces. -- Farah Jasmine Griffin, author of Harlem NocturneIt went so many unexpected places and it fed me. I was especially drawn to the under-told stories of trailblazing women who were the collectors, archivists, and storytellers. She’s made what has been in the shadows legible. It’s full of stories of creative resistance and persistence. Perfect for this moment. * Los Angeles Times *A sweeping survey of Black women’s contributions to music history and a rigorous mapping of their lives as intellectuals. From Bessie Smith to Beyoncé…A positively revolutionary ‘critical re-attunement.’ * Pitchfork *A groundbreaking study that is necessary reading for scholars of Black studies, women’s studies, sound studies, and performance studies. The methods and arguments put forth by Brooks will undoubtedly inspire the growth of Black feminist archival scholarship dedicated to unearthing the stories of many more sidelined, yet-to-be-recognized culture makers. -- Shanice Wolters * Women and Music *Through storytelling, analysis, and archival research, Liner Notes for the Revolution spans generations of Black women as musical pioneers, including Ma Rainey, Billie Holiday, and Tina Turner, and calls attention to their resounding influence. -- Jaelani Turner-Williams * Teen Vogue *Enlightening…a fresh perspective on more than a century’s worth of Black female musicians…Brooks combines an impressive archive of musical works and the artists’ own words to convincingly reveal how they each impacted popular culture. Music aficionados should take note. * Publishers Weekly *A spirited study of how Black women musicians and writers have informed each other despite gatekeepers’ neglect and dismissals…A sui generis and essential work on Black music culture destined to launch future investigations. * Kirkus Reviews (starred review) *A lyrical masterpiece that takes readers on an exhilarating journey through a century of Black sound from Bessie Smith to Beyoncé…Brooks’ liner notes are a ‘requiem’ for the oversight of Black women musicians and their intellectual resonance. * New Books Network *An impressive exploration of Black women’s intellectuality in music. -- Jordannah Elizabeth * Amsterdam News *Rich with insights…A rigorous and sweeping counter-history of American pop. -- Danielle A. Jackson * Vulture *

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"[An] inventive, stimulating book. . . . [Sharon] Marcus is a brilliant theorist and analyst of theater history."---Elaine Showalter, New York Times"[An] insightful and often entertaining take on celebrity. . . . The linchpin of the author's study is French stage actress Sarah Bernhardt, a master of self-promotion. To the shelves of works about Bernhardt, Marcus brings a singular take—richly illustrated throughout by reproduced drawings, paintings, and photographs—that fascinates as it explains her concepts of celebrity." * Kirkus *"Marcus’s study of Bernhardt, a Jewish actress, is remarkable. Even though this is an academic text, it reads so well. And wow, could we read a bajillion more books on Sarah Bernhardt!!!"---Emily Burack, Alma"Marcus’s great achievement here is that she leads us on a journey of understanding celebrity and stardom with a richer history than we are often want to take."---D. Gilson, Lambda Literary"The Drama of Celebrity by Sharon Marcus is a hybrid of biography and sociological treatise on one of the most important phenomena of modern times . . . why we are attracted to — or, conversely, repulsed by — celebrity culture."---Kitty Kelley, Washington Independent Review of Books"[An] insightful and engaging examination of celebrity culture . . . Marcus augments her analysis by drawing on types of sources that are rarely used, such as scrapbooks, letters and life writing produced by fans of celebrities. The inclusion of normally neglected voices adds richness and depth to this work, ensuring it is more comprehensive than most earlier studies of this intriguing subject."---Eleanor Fitzsimons, Literary Review"You don’t have to be into celebrity culture to appreciate this readable study."---Steven Carroll, Sydney Morning Herald"I love the book."---Radhika Jones"In lucid prose, [Marcus] describes celebrity as a drama with three main characters: celebrities, the public that adores and judges them, and the media producers who exalt, criticize and satirize . . . The star of the book is Sarah Bernhardt . . . The book reproduces a rich trove of archival material which, if it does not bring Bernhardt back to life, at least reveals the scintillating liveliness of her image a century ago . . . Spend 200 pages with Sarah Bernhardt, and Kim Kardashian’s provocations come to seem less shocking."---Irina Dumitrescu, Times Literary Supplement"[An] excellent new book . . . Marcus [has] performed a great service by illuminating the extraordinary gift possessed by [Sarah Bernhardt]."---Joseph Roach, Los Angeles Review of Books"The Drama of Celebrity is premised on a fundamental continuity between Bernhardt’s era and our own, and Marcus is surely right to contend that the star did much to invent what we now recognize as celebrity culture."---Ruth Bernard Yeazell, New York Review of Books"[S]parky, feisty and compelling . . . . Sharon Marcus’s book is tour de force and the author a total star."---Jonathan Margolis, Jewish Chronicle"Olivia Vinall delivers an engaging narration of Marcus's exhaustive research on the origins of modern celebrity culture . . . [her] pace and tone are just right for this fascinating investigation of celebrity in our media-driven world." * Audiofile Magazine *"The book will hold readers’ interest and change their understanding of the triangular interaction involving celebrities, media producers and the public."---Richard Weigel, Bowling Green Daily News"[In The Drama of Celebrity], Marcus challenges everything that has been thought about the obsession with fame. Icons are not merely famous for being famous; the media alone cannot make or break stars; fans are not simply passive dupes. Instead, journalists, the public, and celebrities themselves all compete, passionately and expertly, to shape the stories told about celebrities and fans. The result: A high-stakes drama as endless as it is unpredictable." * Society’s Books of Note *"One of the most widely researched and acutely conceptualized books that I have had the pleasure to read in recent years."---Nicholas White, Modern Language Review"[In The Drama of Celebrity,] Marcus traces a long history of modern celebrity culture, which she triangulates in negotiations among stars, fans, and the media. The book is elegantly organized, with each chapter turning around a key 'configuration' of celebrity culture—defiance, sensation, intimacy, multiplication, judgment, and merit—and a key celebrity, the actress Sarah Bernhardt."---Lauren Eriks Cline, Victorian Literature and Culture"Marcus’ core thesis—that celebrity is a process rather than an individual—is a compelling one in that it challenges the reader to view fame as a social relationship, one in which we all play a role, regardless of whether or not we choose to engage with particular stars."---Andrea McDonnell, Journal of British Studies"Marcus’s book is necessary reading for anyone wishing to understand the workings of celebrity."---Kelly Boyd, Journal of Victorian Culture"A serious, sophisticated, and potentially game changing study of celebrity."---Mary Lynn Stewart, American Historical Review

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Winner of the CITAMS Book Award, Communication, Information Technologies, and Media Sociology Section of the American Sociological Association""[Taylor’s] work expertly builds a historical framework for Twitch and outlines how patterns of behavior have evolved on the platform without overcommitting to any last-word assessments of its influence [and] also demonstrates how invigorating academic scholarship can be when it tries to tackle a subject still in formation."---Jacob Merten, The Velvet Light Trap"well worth reading. . . [A] timely, wide-ranging introduction to, immersion in, and analysis of, Twitch and game live streaming."---Helle Breth Klausen, MedieKultur"Watch Me Play is an accessible text that both legitimizes academic inquiry into live streaming and provides a concrete base from which to build. Taylor uses comprehensible language to explain nuanced practices fromgaming, legal, academic, and financial contexts, making this book useful for academics and students, as well as consumers, producers, streamers, and designers."---Janelle Malagon, Popular Culture Studies

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Winner of the ASIS&T Best Information Science Book Award, Association for Information Science and Technology""Finalist for the Rachel Carson Prize, Society for Social Studies of Science""[Dunbar-Hester's] conclusions are refreshingly universal and her insights will be valuable to many people seeking to make their industries more diverse and inclusive." * Lady Science *"Dunbar-Hester notes that diverse hacking efforts in open technology communities have made some progress toward creating more inclusive environments. But these efforts remain limited in their approach and conflate technological participation with the social power that is an outgrowth of it. Framing diversity in open technology communities as a problem of representation is convenient and does produce some morally good outcomes."---Jenna P. Carpenter, IEEE Technology and Society Magazine"an innovative and valuable work ... Dunbar-Hester’s qualitative exploration can serve as a rich foundation for further investigation into the dynamics of intersectional communities, justice work, and technology studies."---Rowan McMullen Cheng, Information, Communication, & Society

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Book SynopsisThe author presents an in-depth look at how democratic values have widened the American arts scene, even as it remains elite and cosmopolitan.Trade Review"A critical guide for new directions in the sociology of the arts."---Amanda Koontz, Contemporary Sociology"Entitled tackles a fascinating new dimension, exploring how the definition of art in the United States has broadened over time while remaining unmistakably elite. . . . [A] powerful theory of artistic legitimation that brings us to a much deeper understanding of art in the United States."---Raquel Jimenez, Contexts Magazine"Entitled [is] an authoritative, eye-opening, and astonishingly detailed look at the power struggle over the boundaries of art, as conducted over approximately the last two centuries of American cultural life."---C. Thi Nguyen, Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism"The book is full of startling nuggets."---Josephine Livingstone, Times Literary Supplement"[Entitled] traces the almost 200-year-old story of how the objects and performances that educated Americans today consider art came to be 'sacralized' as art. Weaving together historical research with theoretical insights from the sociology of culture, Entitled narrates the transformation in American elite tastes from quasi-European highbrow snobs to omnivorous cosmopolitans"---Sergio Cabrera, Social Forces

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Book SynopsisFaulknerista collects more than twenty years of critically influential scholarship by Catherine Gunther Kodat on the writings of one of the most important American authors of the twentieth century, William Faulkner. Initially composed as freestanding essays and now updated and revised, the book''s nine chapters place Faulkner''s work in the context of current debates concerning the politics of white authors who write about race, queer sexualities, and the use of the N-word in literature and popular culture. The Faulknerista of the title is a critic who tackles these debates without fear or favor, balancing admiration with skepticism in a manner that establishes a new model for single-author scholarship that is both historically grounded (for women have been writing about Faulkner, and talking back to him, since the beginning of his career) and urgently contemporary. Beginning with an introduction that argues for the critical importance of women''s engagement with Faulkner

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Part of what makes Young's book so readable and compelling is the knowledge that, underneath all of the analysis, there is a highly intelligent man who knows the boy he was, struggling to figure out what to make of this creator whose early work meant—and continues to mean—so much to him." * Los Angeles Review of Books *"This analysis of the man without fear—rendered by the man without fear of merciless vigilante violence—makes for exceptional reading … Unlike far too many ponderous, jargon-laden academic studies, Young gives us a refreshingly conversational and astutely engaging exploration of the visual genius and often warped sensibilities of one of the most important practitioners of the comics form." * Print Magazine *"Young's warm veneration of Miller's aesthetic and disdain for his fascist tendencies make for a personal and engaging read, even for those who are not fans of comics or graphic novels … Highly recommended." * Choice *"An incisive and focused discussion of an understudied era in the Daredevil series that provides a rewarding exploration of how the superhero reflects and shapes broader areas of culture." -- José Alaniz * author of Death, Disability, and the Superhero: The Silver Age and Beyond *"Knowledgeable with regard to the commercial and aesthetic contexts of the superhero genre, but also willing to risk more personal reflection, Young helps us to read these pivotal, powerful works of popular culture afresh." -- Benjamin Saunders * Director of Comics Studies, The University of Oregon *"Young’s Daredevil will be a necessary resource for personal research on subjects such as ‘auteur’ comics, the ‘gritty’ turn in superhero fiction, and the role of ethics and religion in superhero comics." * Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics *"Frank Miller’s Daredevil and the Ends of Heroism joins superb formal analysis to searching moral self-reflection as Young charts his growing disillusionment with Miller’s work without losing sight of the qualities that drew him to it in the first place. If comics studies has yet to fully resolve or even approach the contradictions of Frank Miller, Paul Young has at least shown us one way we can start." * Journal of Comics and Culture *"The Top 75 Community College Titles: January Edition: The best of all the titles appropriate for two-year colleges reviewed in the January issue of Choice." * Choice *"A deeply personal, informative, and astutely analytical work which paints the moral complexities and themes coursing through Miller’s work on Daredevil in the 1970s and 1980s." * Studies in Comics *"The author delves deeply into the life and work of Frank Miller, his influences, his vision of Daredevil and how he successfully re-engineered the Man Without Fear and his rogue’s gallery and supporting cast. Full-color page and scene reproductions from Miller’s run on Daredevil are examined and the author fleshes out how Miller’s innovative layouts, story-telling techniques and unique take on the character changed the way superheroes were viewed." * Collector's Corner *Table of Contents Acknowledgments A Note on the Texts and Images Introduction: Dealing with the Devil 1 Our Story So Far 2 Into the Snake Pit 3 The Unholy Three 4 Comics for Comics’ Sake Interlude: Daredevil versus the Catechism Conclusion: Exposé Notes Index

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"André M. Carrington takes readers on a voyage that beautifully maps gendered and sexualized articulations of Blackness across different speculative genres and media... Speculative Blackness is a wonderful book that makes indispensable contributions to Black studies, literary studies, studies science fiction fan fiction and fandom, and Afrofuturism."—Alexander G. Weheliye, Northwestern University"An excellent exploration of blackness in sci-fi."—PopMatters"This is required reading for those interested in popular culture’s role in constructing social identity."—CHOICE"Speculative Blackness convincingly persuades that speculative fiction is an ideal space to explore the boundaries of blackness, and to consider new ways of thinking about the way blackness as a category is constructed and produced."—Souls: A Critical Journal of Black Politics, Culture, and Society"Speculative Blackness makes an important contribution to ongoing conversations (both in the academy and in fan culture) about race and science fiction."—African American Review"A telling and thoughtful contribution to discussions of blackness in science fiction, fantasy, utopia, and horror important to cultural production across a variety of media, including fandom, television, film, comics, and literature."—Science Fiction Studies"This book is an intriguing examination of and hopeful outlook on the history of blackness and science fiction and a highly recommended read for scholars in film and race relations."—Film MattersTable of ContentsContentsIntroduction: The Whiteness of Science Fiction and the Speculative Fiction of Blackness1. Josh Brandon’s Blues: Inventing the Black Fan2. Space Race Woman: Lieutenant Uhura beyond the Bridge3. The Immortal Storm: Permutations of Race in Marvel Comics4. Controversy and Crossover in Milestone Media’s Icon5. The Golden Ghetto and the Glittering Parentheses: The Once and Future Benjamin Sisko6. Dreaming in Color: Racial Revisions in Fan FictionCodaAcknowledgmentsNotesIndex

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Book SynopsisDrawing on ethnographic research including interviews with artists at some of Tokyo's leading animation studios, Ian Condry focuses attention on the collective social energy that has made anime a global cultural phenomenon.Trade Review(Starred Review) “This book is highly recommended for all lovers of Japanese history, Japanese culture, anime, manga, and animation.” -- Sally Bryant * Library Journal *“It’s a pleasure to have Condry guide us through the complex and ultimately rewarding world of anime.” * Animation *“An anthropologist by training, Condry bases his arguments in part on fieldwork consisting of interviews with studio personnel and direct observation of working practices. One may question (as the author himself does) how representative these anecdotes are, but they stimulate numerous intriguing interpretations. . . . Condry writes thoughtfully and occasionally displays wry wit. His book contains much of value to scholars of Japanese popular culture.” -- Alexander Jacoby * TLS *“Condry is no armchair theorist – there can be few Westerners who’ve explored the industry as energetically as he has. . . . For readers who do like amassing anecdotes, The Soul of Anime offers oodles of them, often gained first-hand by the intrepid author, ploughing through the anime multiverse.” -- Andrew Osmond * Manga UK *“Get this if you’re interested in the depth of anime, the pioneers and renowned figures within the anime movement (yes, of course including Miyazaki), and significant anime milestones. . . . For the serious anime lover who wants to move from fan to expert . . . this is a must.” -- Gini Koch * It's Comic Book Day blog *"For students and teachers who wish to gain a full understanding of the inner workings of the world of anime and to do serious research of their own in this area, a careful reading of ... Condry's ... book is definitely a must." -- Michael McCaskey * Journal of Japanese Studies *“Superb critical, historical, and ethnographic study of the anime phenomenon; a model of cross-media analysis.” * Science Fiction Studies *“Part of the appeal of the book is the many popular assumptions about anime it disavows and the new information it provides. … In addition, his work underscores the fact that the production process has really only begun with an animation’s release: fans’ ‘consumption’ of animation is inherently productive as they draw existing characters into storylines of their own invention, compete to produce the best subtitles of their favorite shows, and do innumerable other creative things with animated worlds and characters that ultimately determine not only their success but also their global reach.” -- Elise Edwards * American Ethnologist *Table of ContentsNote on Translations and Names ix Introduction. Who Makes Anime? 1 1. Collaborative Networks, Personal Futures 35 2. Characters and Worlds as Creative Platforms 54 3. Early Directions in Postwar Anime 85 4. When Anime Robots Became Real 112 5. Making a Cutting-Edge Anime Studio: The Value of the Gutter 135 6. Dark Energy: What Overseas Fans Reveal about the Copyright Wars 161 7. Love Revolution: Otaku Fans in Japan 185 Conclusion. Future Anime: Collaborative Creativity and Cultural Action 204 Acknowledgments 218 Notes 221 References 227 Index 237

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Book SynopsisIn Empowered Sarah Banet-Weiser examines the deeply entwined relationship between popular feminism and popular misogyny as it plays out in advertising, online and multimedia platforms, and nonprofit and commercial campaigns. Examining feminist discourses that emphasize self-confidence, body positivity, and individual achievement alongside violent misogynist phenomena such as revenge porn, toxic geek masculinity, and men''s rights movements, Banet-Weiser traces how popular feminism and popular misogyny are co-constituted. From Black Girls Code and the Always #LikeAGirl campaign to GamerGate and the 2016 presidential election, Banet-Weiser shows how popular feminism is met with a misogynistic backlash of mass harassment, assault, and institutional neglect. In so doing, she contends that popular feminism''s problematic commitment to visibility limits its potential and collective power.Trade Review"Empowered adroitly examines the context in which popular feminism is transformed into hateful and misogynistic rage." -- Elisabeth Woronzoff * Popmatters *"Sarah Banet-Weiser offers an informative and readable account of popular feminism and popular misogynistic reactions to it. . . . Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty." -- M. Morrissey * Choice *"Empowered offers an extremely timely and critical perspective toward understanding the current topology of feminism and misogyny in popular US culture and can benefit a wide range of readers. With its various tangible examples to illuminate the theorization of popular feminism and misogyny, general readers who don’t have prior knowledge on feminist research could enjoy reading it." -- Dasol Kim * International Journal of Communication *"Empowered presents insightful as well as bold arguments on the current status of popular feminism and its networked natures with popular misogyny." -- Younghan Cho * International Journal of Communication *"Banet-Weiser’s engaging and clear prose, alongside her use of many contemporary examples from a number of cultural contexts, make the book accessible enough for advanced undergraduate or graduate students while still offering cogent and theoretically grounded argumentation to scholars." -- Laura L. Beadling * Journal of American Culture *"Empowered is a crucial and much needed contribution to the debate around contemporary popular feminism and misogyny. In not shying away from exposing both the neoliberal influences of popular feminism, and from investigating the conflictual but nevertheless close entanglements between popular feminist and misogynist thought, Banet-Weiser provides an important keystone towards the reinvention of feminism as a radical and intersectional political project in the contemporary era." -- Hannah Mueller * Communication Booknotes Quarterly *"Empowered is elegant, compelling, and provides an incisive critique of our times—a zeitgeist characterized in equal parts through inspired momentum on matters of gender justice and, simultaneously, met with vitriolic resistance at almost every turn. Empowered theorizes a significant relationship between popular feminism and popular misogyny; it also illuminates how Millennial and Gen Z generations arrive at mediated understandings of feminism." -- Michelle Flood * Feminist Media Studies *“In Empowered, Sarah Banet-Weiser develops a framework for understanding the dynamics between what she calls ‘popular feminism and popular misogyny.’ Banet-Weiser signals that to understand popular feminism, we must explore it through its relationship with the other side of the coin: that is, misogyny…. [Empowered is] interesting, well crafted, and well written.” -- Ea Høg Utoft * Signs *“Taking seriously popular feminism and popular misogyny as sites of struggle, Banet-Weiser deftly addresses the increased popularity of feminism in the contemporary moment and the virulent backlash of misogyny situating both within a corporate, capitalist economy of visibility.” -- Jeremiah Favara * Women's Studies International Forum *Table of ContentsPreface ix Acknowledgments xiii Introduction 1 1. The Funhouse Mirror 41 2. Shame: Love Yourself and Be Humiliated 65 3. Confidence: The Con Game 92 4. Competence: Girls Who Code and Boys Who Hate Them 129 Conclusion: Rage 171 Notes 187 References 193 Index 211

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Book SynopsisDrawing on interviews with industry workers from MTV programs such as The Real World and Teen Mom, Amanda Ann Klein examines the historical, cultural, and industrial factors leading to MTV's shift away from music videos to reality programming in the early 2000s and 2010s.Trade Review“Amanda Ann Klein's extended interviews with both participants and producers of MTV programming as well as her inspired and enjoyable writing make this book an important, compelling, and lively contribution to the study of media and culture.” -- Brenda R. Weber, author of * Latter-day Screens: Gender, Sexuality, and Mediated Mormonism *“Amanda Ann Klein's engaging book analyzes a specific phenomenon: MTV's twenty-first-century reality television programming. But her detailed and thoughtful account reveals so much about the history of a transformative television genre, the evolution of an iconic cable channel, and the construction of identity for an entire generation, making it essential reading to understand contemporary American media and culture.” -- Jason Mittell, author of * Television and American Culture *"My mother used to tell me that Jersey Shore would rot my brain; with Millennials Killed the Video Star, Amanda Ann Klein would seem to agree. In this release, the East Carolina University film professor helps make sense of the noise, walking readers through MTV’s evolution from music videos to scripted reality TV—maximizing stereotypes about race, gender, and class along the way, and shaping how an entire generation would come to understand identity." -- Emma Kenfield * IndyWeek *“[Millennials Killed the Video Star] is a fascinating analysis of media construction and presentation of identities, and how audiences respond to or reject those identities.... Klein’s writing is thoughtful and crisp.... Her writing blends an academic perspective and a fan perspective to produce a thoroughly entertaining analysis.” -- Fiona McQuarrie * PopMatters *"Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty; professionals." -- C. A. Nadon * Choice *“Through her insightful and engaging writing, Klein successfully weaves together industry studies, media and cultural analysis, interviews, and an entertaining retelling of her own personal encounter with Jersey Shore’s DJ Pauly D. The author successfully crafts a book that would appeal to multiple audiences across disciplines.” -- Abshi Iftin * Journal of Popular Culture *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments vii Introduction. What Killed the Video Star? 1 1. "It's Videos, Fool": A Targeted History of MTV (1981–2004) 24 2. "This Is the True Story . . .": The Real World and MTV's Turn to Identity (1992–) 57 3. "She's Gonna Always Be Known at the Girl Who Didn't Go to Paris": Can-Do and At-Risk White Girls on MTV (2004–2013) 89 4. "If You Don't Tan, You're Pale": The Regional and Ethnic Other on MTV (2009–2013) 124 5. "That Moment Is Here, Whether I Like It or Not": When MTV's Programming Fails (2013–2014) 153 Conclusion. Catfish and the Future of MTV's Reality Programming (2012–) 173 Appendix A. MTV Reality Series since 1981 189 Appendix B. Other Television Series Discussed in This Book 193 Notes 197 References 213 Index 233

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Book SynopsisIn The Gaithers and Southern Gospel, Ryan P. Harper examines songwriters Bill and Gloria Gaither's Homecoming video and concert series--a gospel music franchise that, since its beginning in 1991, has outperformed all Christian and much secular popular music on the American music market.The Homecomings represent 'southern gospel.' Typically that means a musical style popular among white evangelical Christians in the American South and Midwest, and it sometimes overlaps in style, theme, and audience with country music. The Homecomings' nostalgic orientation--their celebration of 'traditional' kinds of American Christian life--harmonize well with southern gospel music, past and present. But amidst the backward gazes, the Homecomings also portend and manifest change. The Gaithers' deliberate racial integration of their stages, their careful articulation of a relatively inclusive evangelical theology, and their experiments with an array of musical forms demons

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Book SynopsisOffers a critical examination of children's and YA comics. The anthology is divided into five sections: structure and narration; transmedia; pedagogy; gender and sexuality; and identity, that reflect crucial issues and recurring topics in comics scholarship during the twenty-first century. The contributors are likewise drawn from a diverse array of disciplines.

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Book SynopsisContributions by Jerold J. Abrams, José Alaniz, John Carey, Maurice Charney, Peter Coogan, Joe Cruz, Phillip Lamarr Cunningham, Stefan Danter, Adam Davidson-Harden, Randy Duncan, Stephen Graham Jones, Richard Hall, Richard Heldenfels, Alberto Hermida, Víctor Hernández-Santaolalla, A. G. Holdier, Tiffany Hong, Siegfried Kracauer, Naja Later, Ryan Litsey, Tara Lomax, Tony Magistrale, Matthew McEniry, Cait Mongrain, Grant Morrison, Robert Moses Peaslee, David D. Perlmutter, W. D. Phillips, Jared Poon, Duncan Prettyman, Vladimir Propp, Noriko T. Reider, Robin S. Rosenberg, Hannah Ryan, Lennart Soberon, J. Richard Stevens, Lars Stoltzfus-Brown, John N. Thompson, Dan Vena, and Robert G. WeinerThe Supervillain Reader, featuring both reprinted and original essays, reveals why we are so fascinated with the villain. The obsession with the villain is not a new phenomenon, and, in fact, one finds villains who are 'super' going as far back as ancient religious and myt

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Book SynopsisContributions by Joshua T. Anderson, Chad A. Barbour, Susan Bernardin, Mike Borkent, Jeremy M. Carnes, Philip Cass, Jordan Clapper, James J. Donahue, Dennin Ellis, Jessica Fontaine, Jonathan Ford, Lee Francis IV, Enrique García, Javier García Liendo, Brenna Clarke Gray, Brian Montes, Arij Ouweneel, Kevin Patrick, Candida Rifkind, Jessica Rutherford, and Jorge SantosCultural works by and about Indigenous identities, histories, and experiences circulate far and wide. However, not all films, animation, television shows, and comic books lead to a nuanced understanding of Indigenous realities.Acclaimed comics scholar Frederick Luis Aldama shines light on how mainstream comics have clumsily distilled and reconstructed Indigenous identities and experiences. He and contributors emphasize how Indigenous comic artists are themselves clearing new visual-verbal narrative spaces for articulating more complex histories, cultures, experiences, and narratives of self.

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Book SynopsisContributions by Lauren R. Carmacci, Keridiana Chez, Kate Glassman, John Granger, Marie Schilling Grogan, Beatrice Groves, Tolonda Henderson, Nusaiba Imady, Cecilia Konchar Farr, Juliana Valadão Lopes, Amy Mars, Christina Phillips-Mattson, Patrick McCauley, Jennifer M. Reeher, Jonathan A. Rose, and Emily Strand Despite their decades-long, phenomenal success, the Harry Potter novels have attracted relatively little attention from literary critics and scholars. While popular books, articles, blogs, and fan sites for general readers proliferate, and while philosophers, historians, theologians, sociologists, psychologists, and even business professors have taken on book-length studies and edited essay collections about Harry Potter, literature scholars, outside of the children''s books community, have paid few serious visits to the Potterverse. Could it be that scholars are still reluctant to recognize popular novels, especially those with genre labels children''s literat

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Book SynopsisOutside the world of children''s literature studies, children''s books by authors of well-known texts for adults are often forgotten or marginalized. Although many adults today read contemporary children''s and young adult fiction for pleasure, others continue to see such texts as unsuitable for older audiences, and they are unlikely to cross-read children''s books that were themselves cross-written by authors like Chinua Achebe, Anita Desai, Joy Harjo, or Amy Tan. Meanwhile, these literary voices have produced politically vital works of children''s literature whose complex themes persist across boundaries of expected audience. These works form part of a larger body of activist writing for children that has long challenged preconceived notions about the seriousness of such books and ideas about who, in fact, should read them. They Also Write for Kids: Cross-Writing, Activism, and Children''s Literature seeks to draw these cross-writing projects together and bring them to th

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Book SynopsisA legendary figure of underground comix, Robert Williams (b. 1943) is an important social chronicler of American popular culture. The interviews assembled in in this volume attest to his rhetorical powers, which match the high level of energy evident in his underground comix and action-filled canvases.

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Book SynopsisArtists are everywhere, from celebrities showing at MoMA to locals hoping for a spot on a café wall. They are photographed at gallery openings in New York and Los Angeles, hustle in fast-gentrifying cities, and, sometimes, make quiet lives in Midwestern monasteries. Some command armies of fabricators while others patiently teach schoolchildren how to finger-knit. All of these artists might well be shown in the same exhibition, the quality of work far more important than education or income in determining whether one counts as a "real" artist. In The Work of Art, Alison Gerber explores these art worlds to investigate who artists are (and who they're not), why they do the things they do, and whether a sense of vocational calling and the need to make a living are as incompatible as we've been led to believe. Listening to the stories of artists from across the United States, Gerber finds patterns of agreements and disagreements shared by art-makers from all walks of life. For professionals and hobbyists alike, the alliance of love and money has become central to contemporary art-making, and danger awaits those who fail to strike a balance between the two. The stories artists tell are just as much a part of artistic practice as putting brush to canvas or chisel to marble. By explaining the shared ways that artists account for their activities—the analogies they draw, the arguments they make—Gerber reveals the common bases of value artists point to when they say: what I do is worth doing. The Work of Art asks how we make sense of the things we do and shows why all this talk about value matters so much.Trade Review"The Work of Art offers an intimate investigation of the economics of earning a living making art: where the money comes from and where it goes, and how artists justify, to themselves and others, their strategies for supporting their work. Alison Gerber makes a solid contribution to sociology, to economics, and to our understanding of the practicalities of an artistic career."—Howard S. Becker, author of Art Worlds"Alison Gerber's The Work of Art is a welcome treatment of how artists develop their self-conceptions and their production practices. This account expands our insight into a cutting edge area of economic and cultural sociology, examining the art world where questions of valuation and good work are highly salient, and provides an exciting approach to how material objects are given value. Personal and powerful, Gerber's work will alter how those who care about the lives of artists think about the role of money and identity in the creative process."—Gary Alan Fine, author of Everyday Genius"The Work of Art is an important and much-needed contribution to the neglected question of how artists value their work and time. It is a well-written account that paints a nuanced portrait of art as work and pushes forward sociological thinking about valuation, especially in nontraditional employment."—Elise Herrala, American Journal of Sociology"For those who are interested in the practice of art, the art world, and how artists see themselves,The Work of Artprovides a fascinating account with its innovative approach. Revealing that artists ultimately lead 'decommensurated lives,' where they coexist with different and competing values,The Work of Artilluminates how artists make sense of this in their careers and own lives. A wonderful and insightful read not only for artists but for all people who are trying to navigate the values of the market and what it means to be human."––Lee Trapanier, VoegelinView"The Work of Art is an important contribution to the sociology of art, and may also be of great use as a case study in economic sociology. It is a lively and accessible book, and a useful window into a topic that people rarely discuss with the candor elicited in Gerber's ethnographic interviews."—Nicholas P. Dempsey, Social ForcesTable of Contents1. Art Work? 2. The Work of Art 3. Making Cents of Art 4. Making Sense of Art 5. This Way Be Monsters 6. Doing Things with Words 7. The Audit of Venus Methodological Appendix

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Book SynopsisA Next Big Idea Club "Must Read" for December 2023 As all aspects of our social and informational lives increasingly migrate online, the line between what is "real" and what is digitally fabricated grows ever thinner—and that fake content has undeniable real-world consequences. A History of Fake Things on the Internet takes the long view of how advances in technology brought us to the point where faked texts, images, and video content are nearly indistinguishable from what is authentic or true. Computer scientist Walter J. Scheirer takes a deep dive into the origins of fake news, conspiracy theories, reports of the paranormal, and other deviations from reality that have become part of mainstream culture, from image manipulation in the nineteenth-century darkroom to the literary stylings of large language models like ChatGPT. Scheirer investigates the origins of Internet fakes, from early hoaxes that traversed the globe via Bulletin Board Systems (BBSs), USENET, and a new messaging technology called email, to today's hyperrealistic, AI-generated Deepfakes. An expert in machine learning and recognition, Scheirer breaks down the technical advances that made new developments in digital deception possible, and shares behind-the-screens details of early Internet-era pranks that have become touchstones of hacker lore. His story introduces us to the visionaries and mischief-makers who first deployed digital fakery and continue to influence how digital manipulation works—and doesn't—today: computer hackers, digital artists, media forensics specialists, and AI researchers. Ultimately, Scheirer argues that problems associated with fake content are not intrinsic properties of the content itself, but rather stem from human behavior, demonstrating our capacity for both creativity and destruction.Trade Review"There is something bold, perhaps reckless, in preaching serenity from the volcano's edge. But, as Scheirer points out, the doctored-evidence problem isn't new. Our oldest forms of recording—storytelling, writing, and painting—are laughably easy to hack. We've had to find ways to trust them nonetheless."—Daniel Immerwahr, The New Yorker"The Internet is awash in disinformation and conspiracy theories, with AI-generated 'deepfakes' looming on the horizon. A History of Fake Things on the Internet explains how fakes of all kinds have been a central part of Internet history and culture from the beginning. It is essential reading for understanding how we got here and where we are headed."—Sean Lawson, coauthor of Social Engineering: How Crowdmasters, Phreaks, Hackers, and Trolls Created a New Form of Manipulative Communication"In this captivating book, Walter J. Scheirer artfully combines the skills of a cultural critic, historian, and computer scientist to explore the many facets of technological duplicity. Going beyond cliches, the book delves into an array of historical and contemporary cases involving computer hackers, digital artists, media forensics specialists, and AI researchers. By doing so, he unveils how exactly emergent media becomes the basis for myths, falsehoods, and trickery, and with what consequences."—Gabriella Coleman, author of Hacker, Hoaxer, Whistleblower, Spy: The Many Faces of Anonymous"By historicizing fakeness online, Walter J. Scheirer helps readers understand the very real consequences, contexts, and stakes of digital participation. A fascinating study of creativity in all its forms—one that resists binary proclamations about what is good and creative and what is bad and destructive. Instead, the book says yes in many directions."—Whitney Phillips, coauthor of You Are Here: A Field Guide for Navigating Polarized Speech, Conspiracy Theories, and Our Polluted Media Landscape"Drawing on a framework developed by the pioneering anthropologist Claude Lévi-Strauss in the 1960s, Scheirer argues that humanity always occupies 'two parallel timelines: the physical world (i.e., the historical timeline) and the myth cycle (i.e., a fictional timeline).' Both are indispensable: We are confined to reality, but we cannot confront facts (or even make sense of them) without the salve of fiction."—Becca Rothfeld, Washington PostTable of Contents1. Restyling Reality 2. On the Virtual Frontier of the Imagination 3. Photoshop Fantasies 4. Cheat Codes for Life 5. Speculative Sleuths 6. Virtualized Horror 7. Dreams of a Clairvoyant AI 8. Creative Spaces

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Book SynopsisAn avid gamer and sharp media critic explains meritocracy’s negative contribution to video game culture—and what can be done about it Video games have brought entertainment, education, and innovation to millions, but gaming also has its dark sides. From the deep-bred misogyny epitomized by GamerGate to the endemic malice of abusive player communities, gamer culture has had serious real-world repercussions, ranging from death threats to sexist industry practices and racist condemnations. In The Toxic Meritocracy of Video Games, new media critic and longtime gamer Christopher A. Paul explains how video games’ focus on meritocracy empowers this negative culture. Paul first shows why meritocracy is integral to video-game design, narratives, and values. Games typically valorize skill and technique, and common video-game practices (such as leveling) build meritocratic thinking into the most basic premises. Video games are often assumed to have an even playing field, but they facilitate skill transfer from game to game, allowing certain players a built-in advantage.The Toxic Meritocracy of Video Games identifies deep-seated challenges in the culture of video games—but all is not lost. As Paul argues, similarly meritocratic institutions like professional sports and higher education have found powerful remedies to alleviate their own toxic cultures, including active recruiting and strategies that promote values such as contingency, luck, and serendipity. These can be brought to the gamer universe, Paul contends, ultimately fostering a more diverse, accepting, and self-reflective culture that is not only good for gamers but good for video games as well.Trade Review"Christopher A. Paul is an incisive critic, and The Toxic Meritocracy of Video Games is essential reading for researchers, industry professionals, and players trying to make sense of gaming's culture wars."—Carly A. Kocurek, author of Coin-Operated Americans: Rebooting Boyhood at the Video Game Arcade"Paul offers a compelling and carefully supported argument to deconstruct and reconsider meritocracy in video game culture. An engaging read."—CHOICE "This is a carefully considered book that shines a much-needed light on the toxicity of video game culture and presents some earnest suggestions for how to reform it and the games that inspire it." —First Person ScholarTable of ContentsIntroduction: Growing Up Gamer1. Leveling Up in Life: How Meritocracy Works in Society2. A Toxic Culture: Studying Gaming’s Jerks3. Coding Meritocracy: Norms of Game Design and Narrative4. Judging Skill: From World of Warcraft to Kim Kardashian: Hollywood5. Learning from OthersConclusion: An Obligation to Do BetterAcknowledgmentsNotesGameographyIndex

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