Uniquely presented as a conversation between two female analysts: one African American and one white British. Confronts themes including race, heritage, racism, politics, colonialism and culture.

This book is the first to explore the composition of television ratings in a cross-cultural, comparative manner. Using both communication history and the sociology of quantification, Television Audiences Across the World illuminates why the whole television industry, and television audiences themselves, refer to ratings as the main way to represent the television-watching public. It shows how a specific technology, the peoplemeter, has become the 'state of the art' in very different cultural contexts, including major non-Western countries. It analyses how television audience measurement succeeds in homogenizing diverse ways of watching television among different populations, creating 'apparent nations', and at times ignoring entire regions or parts of the population. The chapters in this volume discuss why television audience measurement has become the dominant model for the evaluation of popularity in the post-modern world, the true 'voice of the masses', still powerful in supposedly fragmented societies.

A rigorous study of the social meaning and consequences of racist humor, and a damning argument for when the joke is not just a joke. Having a "good" sense of humor generally means being able to take a joke without getting offended-laughing even at a taboo thought or at another's expense. The insinuation is that laughter eases social tension and creates solidarity in an overly politicized social world. But do the stakes change when the jokes are racist? In The Souls of White Jokes Raul Perez argues that we must genuinely confront this unsettling question in order to fully understand the persistence of anti-black racism and white supremacy in American society today. W.E.B. Du Bois's prescient essay "The Souls of White Folk" was one of the first to theorize whiteness as a social and political construct based on a feeling of superiority over racialized others-a kind of racial contempt. Perez extends this theory to the study of humor, connecting theories of racial formation to parallel ideas about humor stemming from laughter at another's misfortune. Critically synthesizing scholarship on race, humor, and emotions, he uncovers a key function of humor as a tool for producing racial alienation, dehumanization, exclusion, and even violence. Perez tracks this use of humor from blackface minstrelsy to contemporary contexts, including police culture, politics, and far-right extremists. Rather than being harmless fun, this humor plays a central role in reinforcing and mobilizing racist ideology and power under the guise of amusement. The Souls of White Jokes exposes this malicious side of humor, while also revealing a new facet of racism today. Though it can be comforting to imagine racism as coming from racial hatred and anger, the terrifying reality is that it is tied up in seemingly benign, even joyful, everyday interactions as well- and for racism to be eradicated we must face this truth.

In "I'm Feeling the Blues Right Now: Blues Tourism and the Mississippi Delta," Stephen A. King reveals the strategies used by blues promoters and organizers in Mississippi, both African American and white, local and state, to attract the attention of tourists. In the process, he reveals how promotional materials portray the Delta's blues culture and its musicians. Those involved in selling the blues in Mississippi work to promote the music while often conveniently forgetting the state's historical record of racial and economic injustice. King's research includes numerous interviews with blues musicians and promoters, chambers of commerce, local and regional tourism entities, and members of the Mississippi Blues Commission.

This book is the first critical account of Mississippi's blues tourism industry. From the late 1970s until 2000, Mississippi's blues tourism industry was fragmented, decentralized, and localized, as each community competed for tourist dollars. By 2003-2004, with the creation of the Mississippi Blues Commission, the promotion of the blues became more centralized as state government played an increasing role in promoting Mississippi's blues heritage. Blues tourism has the potential to generate new revenue in one of the poorest states in the country, repair the state's public image, and serve as a vehicle for racial reconciliation.

They re not the students strolling across the bucolic liberal arts campuses where their grandfathers played football. They are first-generation college students children of immigrants and blue-collar workers who know that their hopes for success hinge on a degree.

But college is expensive, unfamiliar, and intimidating. Inexperienced students expect tough classes and demanding, remote faculty. They may not know what an assignment means, what a score indicates, or that a single grade is not a definitive measure of ability. And they certainly don t feel entitled to be there. They do not presume success, and if they have a problem, they don t expect to receive help or even a second chance.

Rebecca D. Cox draws on five years of interviews and observations at community colleges. She shows how students and their instructors misunderstand and ultimately fail one another, despite good intentions. Most memorably, she describes how easily students can feel defeated by their real-world responsibilities and by the demands of college and come to conclude that they just don t belong there after all.

Eye-opening even for experienced faculty and administrators, "The College Fear Factor" reveals how the traditional college culture can actually pose obstacles to students success, and suggests strategies for effectively explaining academic expectations.

The significance of "Walk into Your Season" is that it ponders whether a cultural worker can renew the role of free spaces of empowerment to address power differentials utilizing key contributors such as the traditions and language of a culture; the cultural worker's potential to facilitate action and transformation; and the intentional effort to make the hidden transcript of resistance public. By illustrating how free spaces are effective in discursive communities affected by the aftermath of historical dominance and still vulnerable to the ploys of power, "Walk into Your Season" illustrates cultural work in two different settings, one with a history of free spaces (Thirty First Street Baptist Church) and one without a history of free spaces (older youth transitioning from foster care in the Richmond Department of Social Services).

By uniting a group's words, narrative(s), images, visual art, music, film, and other cultural legacies of voice in an effort to inform and inspire individual and collective transformation, cultural work creates a repertoire that exposes empowering features of the group's free spaces. Tacit knowing, reflective practice, and creativity, that is, the artistic, tacit, intuitive processes that practitioners bring to situations of problem solving are explored.

Cultural work as repertoire building and creating free space is central to democratic progress and important due to its work in (1) identifying, engaging, and illuminating, the empowering features of free space (2) discerning the gaps between reality and the democratic ideal, (3) facilitating a creative space in which recognized gaps can be explored, (4) building a repertoire that empowers individually and collectively through renewal and initiation, (5) making hidden transcripts public when appropriate, and (6) celebrating the emergent creative repertoire in the community. A set of principles for effective cultural work is revealed.

Viennese popular culture at the turn of the twentieth century was the product of the city's Jewish and non-Jewish residents alike. While these two communities interacted in a variety of ways to their mutual benefit, Jewish culture was also inevitably shaped by the city's persistent bouts of antisemitism. This fascinating study explores how Jewish artists, performers, and impresarios reacted to prejudice, showing how they articulated identity through performative engagement rather than anchoring it in origin and descent. In this way, they attempted to transcend a racialized identity even as they indelibly inscribed their Jewish existence into the cultural history of the era.

Disability and illness are not easy subjects to write about in a direct manner. These are, however, the domains that most of us will eventually inhabit. It is a simple fact that our bodies fail, though our culture protests this at every occasion. The bodies of disabled people have been deemed unworthy of textual representation beyond the texts of medicine. The life stories of those who are suffering are seen as tragic, fodder for stories of what happens to the "other." The author (Nancy Halifax, assistant professor of critical disability studies at York University) posits that the sociopolitical structures of our culture limit the range of disabled people's positions in the world; their absence in books and other cultural products points to the absence of social equity. The subjective experience of illness, impairment, and disability is poorly reflected in most current models of health and disease used in the practices and policies of medical and health institutions. Those with illness, impairment, and disability see this deficiency as a serious problem. This type of work that is called into creation by its subjects exemplifies the notion that writers are ethically preoccupied with telling stories, not only for oneself, but also for others. This book defies and celebrates academic writing; it presents a story of illness and disability, experiences that collectively enrich and challenge our understandings of embodiment, narrative, social structures, identity, and politics-the full continuum of what it means and has meant, to be human. This is a remarkable and important book for both arts-informed researchers and educators and non-arts-informed researchers and educators in cultural studies, critical disability studies, education, health, and qualitative research.

Discover music that dared to be different, risked reputations and put careers in jeopardy - causing fascination and intrigue in some and rejection and scorn in others. This is what happens when people take tradition and rip it up. MusicQuake tells the stories of 50 pivotal albums and performances that shook the world of modern music - chronicling the fascinating tales of their creation, reception and legacy. Tracing enigmatic composers, risque performers and radical songwriters - this books introduces the history of 20th century music in a new light. From George Gershwin and John Cage to Os Mutantes and Fela Kuti; from Patti Smith and The Slits to Public Enemy and Missy Elliott - by discussing each entry within the context of its creation, the book will give readers true insight into why each moment was so pivotal and tell the stories surrounding the most exciting music ever produced. Some were shocking, others confusing, beautiful and surreal; some were scorned on release, others were chart toppers; and yet more inspired entire movements and generations of new musicians. These cutting-edge works, which celebrate novelty, technology and innovation, help define what music is today - acting as prime examples of how powerful songs can be. This book is from the Culture Quake series, which looks into iconic moments of culture which truly created paradigm shifts in their respective fields. Also available are ArtQuake, FilmQuake and FashionQuake.

First published in 1984, The Assamese is an anthropological exploration of Assam. The many tribes living in the hill tracts of Assam early engaged the attention of anthropologists but no significant studies have been made of the people living in the Assam valley who call themselves Assamese, the distinctive features of whose culture are inseparably connected with their religious institutions. The purpose of this book is to give an account of the way of life which the Assamese people are seeking to preserve, and its chief claim to attention is that it is the very first field-study of the village foundations of social life in Assam, containing a plenitude of detailed information on local aggregates, caste divisions, modes of livelihood, devotional practices, marriage patterns, and much else. This book will be of interest to students of anthropology, ethnic studies, history and cultural studies.

This biography details Lady Gaga's life from all angles, documenting her family background; the events before and during her meteoric rise to success as a songwriter, singer, and performance artist; her deft use of social media; and her political commentary. Lady Gaga: A Biography details Lady Gaga's life from birth to 2011. Readers will learn about her personal background-where she was born, who her parents were, what her early school years as a "weird girl" with "rabbit teeth" were like-as well as her pre-fame years where she gained an education in music and "paid her dues" as a small-time professional in small performance venues. The many milestones of her wildly successful career so far are documented in detail, as are Haus of Gaga, the artistic collective that supports her performances; her ongoing activities as a performer; her presentation in couture and accessories; and her stated intentions for the future. This book will be an engrossing read for fans of Lady Gaga as well as anyone interested in popular culture or the entertainment industry. Its inclusion of chapter endnotes containing quotations and controversial points along with a bibliography of print and electronic resources make it an authoritative research tool for students as well. A timeline of major events in Lady Gaga's life, including two world tours and several awards ceremonies Various photographs of Lady Gaga performing and at public appearances A bibliography provides choices for further reading

A bold, stylish look at the global rise of Korean culture and style in the words and images of those shaping and living it. K-pop, K-fashion, K-drama, K-beauty: over the last decade, K-style has exploded onto the global scene. What is behind this phenomenon? Where does K-Style go from here? Make, Break, Remix: The Rise of K-Style makes no attempt to define or categorize, instead celebrating the eclectic, multi-faceted nature of K-Style and its home city of Seoul. Through interviews with eighteen tastemakers who are shaping K-style across creative sectors, from 1Million Studio's Lia Kim to rock band leader Hwang Soyoon, world famous tattooist Doy to Asia's leading designer Teo Yang, Fiona Bae tells untold stories from true insiders, exploring a sense of identity in their work, how living in Seoul affects them and their creative output, and the decade of changes that has brought about the current K-style. Interwoven with these texts, five distinct photo-essays from celebrated photographer less_TAEKYUN KIM (recent credits including Vogue Korea, GQ Korea, i-D Korea) capture the vibrant energy of Seoul's streets and the incredible style of its youth. Contributors such as BLACKPINK songwriter and A&R Danny Chung, add their own vital perspectives on the scene, while fashion journalist Sukwoo Hong sits down with brands to watch for his K-fashion directory such as PAF(Post Archive Faction). Designed by Hezin O, with a distinct typography that blends Hangul and Roman writing systems, this is an inventive, genre-breaking look at K-style in the words of those shaping it.

What is it about anime that is so appealing to a transnational fan base? Is the American attraction to anime similar to the popularity of previous fads of Japanese culture, like the Japonisants of fin-de-siecle France enamored of Japanese art and architecture, or the American poets in the fifties and sixties who latched onto haiku? Or is this something new, a product of global culture in which ethnic identities carry less weight? This book explores these issues by taking a look at anime fans and the place they occupy, both in terms of subculture in Japan and America, and in relation to Western perceptions of Japan since the late 1800s.

This volume crucially provides an analytical and comparative approach, investigating the meaning and uses of the concept of exceptionalism, while demonstrating the ways in which it manifests itself in different historical and geographical settings. Exceptionalism offers comparative case studies from different parts of the world, showcasing the way in which exceptionalism has come to occupy an important narrative position in relation to different nation-states, including the United States, the United Kingdom, the Nordic countries, various European nations and countries in Latin America, Africa and Asia. An introduction to and overview of a term that has come to define the past and present identity of many nations, this book will appeal to scholars of sociology, anthropology, geography, cultural studies and politics.

This book argues that Halloween need not be the first nor the most influential youth slasher film for it to hold a special place in the history of youth cinema. John Carpenter's 1978 horror hit was once considered the be-all, end-all of teen slasher cinema and was regarded as the first, the best, and the most influential American slasher film. Recent revisions in film history, however, have challenged Halloween's comfortable place in the canon of youth horror cinema. However, this book argues that the film, like no other, draws from the themes, imagery, and obsessions that fueled youth horror cinema since the 1950s-Gothic atmosphere, atomic dread, twisted psychology, and alienated teenage monsters-and ties them together in the deceptively simple story of a masked killer on Halloween night. Along the way, the film delivers a savage critique of social institutions and their failure to protect young people. Halloween also depicts a cadre of compelling and complicated youth characters: teenage babysitters watching over preadolescents as a killer, who is viciously avoiding the responsibilities of young adulthood, stalks them through the shadows. This book explores all these aspects of Halloween, including the franchise it spawned, providing an invaluable insight into this iconic film for students and researchers alike.

View the Table of Contents. Read Chapter 1.

aIn her book, Cheney tries to dispel the notion that all rap music is about sex, violence and bling. . . . The book is insightfulaparticularly to white Americans who don't get the appeal of Louis Farrakhan or to older African-Americans whose knowledge of black music stops at Smokey Robinson. After reading this book, both groups might at least be tempted to sample some Public Enemy music.a
--"The San Luis Obispo Tribune"

aA lively, unique, and often revisionist perspective on the sexual politics of hip-hop culture.a
--William L. Van Deburg, author of "New Day in Babylon: The Black Power Movement and American Culture, 1965a1975"

"A study of rap singers of the 1980s and 90s that sets their political expression in the context of the racial and sexual politics of black nationalism since the early 19th century."
--"The Chronicle"

a[A] must read for anyone interested in the problems of gender and politics in rap music. Charise Cheney combines an historianas insight with an expansive knowledge of hip-hop culture to produce this remarkable study of the rise of artists influenced by black nationalismathe self-proclaimed araptivists.a Cheney dives head-on into the contentious debates regarding the articulations of masculinity and black nationalism in rap, and how these reflect black Americansa age-old desire for power and authority. A vital contribution."
--Jane Rhodes, author of "Framing the Black Panthers: The Spectacular Rise of a Black Power Icon"

aA provocative analysis that no one will be able to ignore. A compelling challenge to consider the ways that patriarchy has influenced the movement for blackself-determination.a--"Choice," Highly recommended

Brothers Gonna Work It Out considers the political expression of rap artists within the historical tradition of black nationalism. Interweaving songs and personal interviews with hip-hop artists and activists including Chuck D of Public Enemy, KRS-One, Rosa Clemente, manager of dead prez, and Wise Intelligent of Poor Righteous Teachers, Cheney links late twentieth-century hip-hop nationalists with their nineteenth-century spiritual forebears.

Cheney examines Black nationalism as an ideology historically inspired by a crisis of masculinity. Challenging simplistic notions of hip-hop culture as simply sexist or misogynistic, she pays particular attention to Black nationalists' historicizing of slavery and their visualization of male empowerment through violent resistance. She charts the recent rejection of Christianity in the lyrics of rap nationalist music due to the perception that it is too conciliatory, and the increasing popularity of Black Muslim rap artists.

Cheney situates rap nationalism in the 1980s and 90s within a long tradition of Black nationalist political thought which extends beyond its more obvious influences in the mid-to-late twentieth century like the Nation of Islam or the Black Power Movement, and demonstrates its power as a voice for disenfranchised and disillusioned youth all over the world.

New York Times Bestseller "The ultimate behind-the-scenes account." -Washington Post "The definitive history of the landmark TV show." -USA Today Join the entire Dunder Mifflin gang on a journey back to Scranton: here's the hilarious and improbable inside story behind the beloved series. Based on hundreds of hours of exclusive interviews with the cast and creators and illustrated with 100 behind-the-scenes photographs, here, at last, is the untold inside story of The Office, featuring a foreword by Greg Daniels, who adapted the series for the U.S. and was its guiding creative force, and narrated by star Brian Baumgartner (aka "Kevin Malone") and executive producer Ben Silverman.. In Welcome to Dunder Mifflin, the entire Office gang reunite after nearly a decade to share their favorite untold stories, spill secrets, and reveal how a little show that barely survived its first season became the most watched series in the universe. This ultimate fan companion pulls back the curtain as never before on all the absurdity, genius, love, passion, and dumb luck that went into creating America's beloved The Office. Featuring the memories of Steve Carell, John Krasinkski, Jenna Fischer, Greg Daniels, Ricky Gervais, Rainn Wilson, Angela Kinsey, Craig Robinson, Brian Baumgartner, Phyllis Smith, Kate Flannery, Ed Helms, Oscar Nunez, Amy Ryan, Ellie Kemper, Creed Bratton, Paul Lieberstein, Ben Silverman, Mike Schur, and many more.

A SUNDAY TIMES BEST FILM AND THEATRE BOOK OF 2022 'Anyone in love with the arts will fall in love with this beautifully written and fascinating book' Kathy Burke Astonish Me! is an adrenaline-charged rollercoaster through history's seismic first nights, exploring how individual artists can change and shape the story of culture - and allow us to see ourselves in new ways. It tells of times when 'the air between people seems to alter' as art achieves profound change, across the globe and across history. Dominic Dromgoole has created a radical and fresh canon. He begins in New York in 1963, as Lorraine Hansberry remakes American theatre and a nation's perception of race. And then, as the lights go up, we find ourselves in Renaissance Florence, watching Michelangelo's David being hauled into the Piazza della Signoria. The dust settles and we are transported to the birth of theatre in fifth-century Athens - and then to Paris to meet with Diaghilev and Stravinsky for the Rite of Spring. We witness kabuki's creation, as a radical women's performance, in Kyoto; the Sex Pistols shattering Thatcherite Britain at Manchester's Free Trade Hall; and watch as Hitchcock directs Psycho.

The rise of tattoos into the mainstream has been a defining aspect of 21st century western culture. Tattoos and Popular Culture showcases how tattoos have been catapulted from 'deviant' and 'alternative' subculture, into a popular culture, becoming a potent signifier of 'difference' for the Millennial generation. From tattooed film superheroes such as Harley Quinn, MTV's Just Tattoo of Us, and the extensively tattooed and mediated bodies of celebrities across social media, tattoos are now not only inscribed into increasing numbers of Millennial and Gen Z bodies, but also into mainstream culture. As the entrenched stigmas associated with tattoos are eroded Barron asks, how do subcultural and mainstream tattoo images and practices co-exist? Which cultural expressions are at the forefront of modern tattoo culture?

Rainbow History Class is your entry into LGBTQ+ history, sharing queer and trans stories from Ancient civilisations all the way up to the internet. So much of queer and trans history and culture has been erased, but Hannah McElhinney, writer and creator of Rainbow History Class (as seen on TikTok), is here to help us all with this crash course. This history lesson isn't dry and academic, nor is it glitter-soaked and reductive. It's a comprehensive and entertaining romp through queer and trans history, full of secret queer codes, gender-bending icons, pop-culture knowledge and incredible activists. More than anything, Rainbow History Class will make you feel connected to the stories of our rich and vibrant community. This knowledge will help spark conversations between your friends and family and be a source of comfort as you stand up for yourself and your community. This illustrated hardback book is a celebration for all LGBTQ+ people, and an invitation to the newly out that says, 'Welcome to the club, let's get you caught up!'