Search results for ""author arthur asa berger""

A murder, just four hours before the Royal Duchess is scheduled to sail for Alaska, and inspector Solomon Hunter and his assistant, Talcott Weems, are summoned to investigate this latest mystery. This delightful whodunit textbook by Arthur Asa Berger is the perfect tool to introduce students to cultural studies theories, in particular the complexities of identity, and also to the foibles of academic life. During the investigation, the reader will encounter several critical theories, including semiotics, postmodernism, feminism, psychoanalysis, and race theory. Of course, identity is also of central importance in Hunter and Weems' own mission: to learn the identity of the murderer!

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In The Portable Postmodernist, Arthur Asa Berger introduces key concepts written by postmodernism's leading theorists including Lyotard, Baudrillard, and Jameson. This collage of influential writing is followed by Berger's concise, accessible comments. Written for the newcomer, Berger's lucid explanations define the postmodernism's most elusive ideas. Organized in fifty segments, the book runs the gamut from postmodern architecture to feminism to punk music. Berger weaves these diverse topics together, exploring and challenging postmodernism's role in popular culture. This highly-readable book is essential reading for students and anyone interested in media, social, and cultural studies.

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Based on class activities and assignments used by the author over nearly forty years of teaching, Games and Activities for Media, Communication, and Cultural Studies Students is a natural accompaniment for texts in media or cultural studies and communication courses. Berger has put together a range of activities that will help students apply the ideas and concepts learned about media and communication to films, television programs, advertisements, and other media "texts." It also gives tips to students and professors on how to create new games and includes a glossary of communication and cultural studies terms. Games and Activities will help turn textbook concepts into useful applications.

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Making Sense of Media is a lively and accessible text that helps readers understand mass media and the texts they carry. Designed expressly for those interested in gaining a solid understanding of the media and how they work, it is an indispensable book. Offers a lively, accessible, and concise textbook to help readers understand mass media and their texts Covers seminal figures, concepts and scholarship in mass media studies, including Vladimir Propp, Mikhail Bakhtin, Raymond Williams, Fredric Jameson, and Stuart Hall Explores the ideas found in nineteen significant books that will provide useful insights and concepts for anyone interested in the study of the media Features chapter-by-chapter short articles by the author, that address an idea or theory in the particular book being discussed Includes charts, boxes features, exercises, and illustrations to round out analyses and engage the beginning student

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Making Sense of Media is a lively and accessible text that helps readers understand mass media and the texts they carry. Designed expressly for those interested in gaining a solid understanding of the media and how they work, it is an indispensable book. Offers a lively, accessible, and concise textbook to help readers understand mass media and their texts Covers seminal figures, concepts and scholarship in mass media studies, including Vladimir Propp, Mikhail Bakhtin, Raymond Williams, Fredric Jameson, and Stuart Hall Explores the ideas found in nineteen significant books that will provide useful insights and concepts for anyone interested in the study of the media Features chapter-by-chapter short articles by the author, that address an idea or theory in the particular book being discussed Includes charts, boxes features, exercises, and illustrations to round out analyses and engage the beginning student

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'Postmodern' is a popular term, but difficult to define. Is it a movement? Discipline? Lifestyle? Or all these things? What are the limits of its jurisdiction? Instead of summing up the various perspectives of scholars and the variety of ideas to which the term postmodernism has been assigned, Berger lets this diversity speak for itself. By bringing together in a reader format articles and essays on the impact of the postmodern temper on an eclectic range of subjects from MTV and 'The X-Files' to museums and university culture, Berger presents a few of the many ways different theorists have come to terms with postmodernism, while examining manifestations of postmodernism in the culture of everyday life. Highly entertaining and thought-provoking, the collection is sure to engage students and encourage a real involvement with the issues of postmodernism. And, when paired with its 'postmodern murder mystery' companion, Postmortem for a Postmodernist (also published by AltaMira Press), the pair make an amusing and engaging exploration into the world of the postmodern presence.

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"Postmodern" is a popular term, but difficult to define. Is it a movement? Discipline? Lifestyle? Or all these things? What are the limits of its jurisdiction? Instead of summing up the various perspectives of scholars and the variety of ideas to which the term postmodernism has been assigned, Berger lets this diversity speak for itself. By bringing together in a reader format articles and essays on the impact of the postmodern temper on an eclectic range of subjects from MTV and "The X-Files" to museums and university culture, Berger presents a few of the many ways different theorists have come to terms with postmodernism, while examining manifestations of postmodernism in the culture of everyday life. Highly entertaining and thought-provoking, the collection is sure to engage students and encourage a real involvement with the issues of postmodernism. And, when paired with its "postmodern murder mystery" companion, Postmortem for a Postmodernist (also published by AltaMira Press), the pair make an amusing and engaging exploration into the world of the postmodern presence.

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Are Americans obsessed with shopping? Shop 'til You Drop is a lively look at our consumer culture and its role in our everyday lives and society. Is the United States different from other first-world nations in the amount of time we spend shopping or in our attitudes toward consumption? Are we one unified consumer culture or are several cultures operating and battling against one another? Arthur Asa Berger uncovers the answers to these and other questions, considering the sacred roots of consumer culture, the demographics of consumption, theories about competing cultures, and the semiotics of shopping. Accessibly written and entertaining, Shop 'til You Drop is ideal for courses in cultural studies, advertising, and American studies, as well as for anyone curious about our nation's drive to consume.

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In The Portable Postmodernist, Arthur Asa Berger introduces key concepts written by postmodernism's leading theorists including Lyotard, Baudrillard, and Jameson. This collage of influential writing is followed by Berger's concise, accessible comments. Written for the newcomer, Berger's lucid explanations define the postmodernism's most elusive ideas. Organized in fifty segments, the book runs the gamut from postmodern architecture to feminism to punk music. Berger weaves these diverse topics together, exploring and challenging postmodernism's role in popular culture. This highly-readable book is essential reading for students and anyone interested in media, social, and cultural studies.

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"This book provides a concise, thought-provoking, and cleverly-written introduction to major theories in media analysis, and it gives students new perspectives on the media they use." —Donna Halper, Lesley University In the Sixth Edition of Media Analysis Techniques, author Arthur Asa Berger once again provides students with a clearly written, user-friendly, hands-on guide to media criticism. The book empowers readers to make their own analyses of the media rather than just accept how others interpret the media. Media Analysis Techniques begins by examining four basic techniques of media interpretation—semiotic theory, Marxist theory, psychoanalytic theory, and sociological theory—that Berger considers critical for creative people to acknowledge if they are to understand how their creations translate to the real world. Application chapters then link popular culture to these four theories. Written in an accessible style that demystifies complex concepts, Media Analysis Techniques includes learning exercises, a glossary, study guides, and the author’s own illustrations. New to the Sixth Edition: A new chapter on discourse analysis offers students techniques for analyzing the language in texts. New content on psychological impact of social media shows that there are often negative consequences to using social media. Increased coverage of technology and social media helps readers apply time-tested analysis techniques to the latest media. Updated examples from popular culture bring theory to life. New drawings and photo images illustrate concepts and enhance the visual attractiveness of this book. New material around generational differences describe to students how each generation interacts with media differently, particularly the millennials. New discussions by thinkers who have made major impacts on popular culture, such as Daniel Chandler on semiotic codes Michel Foucault on change in cultures Mark Gottdiener on sign vehicles in semiotic theory Guy Debord on the Society of Spectacle Mark Thompson et al on Marx’s neglect of egalitarian political culture Marcel Danesi on myth and popular culture Ernest Kris on the Oedipus Complex Sigmund Freud on the purposes of jokes Clotaire Rapaille on the new "Global code." Teun van Dyk on discourse analysis and ideology Wolfgang Iser on reception theory

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