Media and Cultural Theory

This is a collection bringing together leading scholars to address key questions and concerns in media and cultural studies - issues of community, geography, identity, cultural production, technology and aesthetics. As well as broad overview chapters considering phenomena such as globalization, post-modernism and post-feminism, the book will also contain case studies including the US after 9/11, media use by diasporic communities, the politics of performance labor and the impact of the internet on mass media industries.

Containing new thinking and original surveys, Media& Cultural Theory brings together leading international scholars to address key issues and debates within media and cultural studies. Through the use of contemporary media and film texts such as Bridget Jones’ Diary and The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and using case studies of the USA and the UK after September 11th, James Curran and David Morley examine central topics including: media representations of the new woman in contemporary society the creation of self in lifestyle media the nature of globalization the rise of digital actors and media. Ideal as a course reader, with each essay covering a different major area or advance in original research, Media& Cultural Theory is global in its reach. Through its engagement with broad questions, it is an invaluable book that can be applied to the studies of media and cultural studies students the English-speaking world over.

James Curran, David Morley