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Media Studies
Backlist
See Also: Media Studies > New & Featured; Film
> Criticism, Theory & History
 Mass Media in a Mass Society: Myth and Reality
Richard Hoggart
Richard Hoggart, famous for his writings on literature, education, and the means
of communication, has written a new work in which he looks at the ways in which
mass communication in the 21st century both encourages and hinders a greater
understanding of the modern world. Hardcover, 214 pp. $29.95.
 Beyond the Image Machine: A History of Visual Technologies
David Tomas
Through a series of illustrated studies that range from sixteenth-century painting
to late-twentieth century head-mounted displays, David Tomas gives a fascinating
and original account of the relationship between visual technology, human sensory
perception and identity. This stimulating argument for an alternative history
of scientific and technological imaging systems will serve as a rich source
of ideas and inspiration for further research into the history of visual technologies.
Softcover, 231 pp. $36.50.
 Televising War: From Vietnam to Iraq
Andrew Hoskins
Andrew Hoskins provides a thought-provoking critical account of the
unique relationship between the media and conflict. He reveals the influence
the media has on the public's perception of the war, from the televisual
'losing' of the Vietnam War, to the satellite-driven footage of from
the Gulf in 1991, and finally to the 24-hour coverage by journalists
of the recent Iraq War. Softcover, 148 pp. $33.95.
 The Cambridge Companion to Postmodernism
Steven Connor
Although frequently used, "postmodernism" is one of the
most elusive and oft-debated terms in cultural theory. This anthology
of essays offers a survey of the various intellectuals arenas in which
postmodernism has come to exist, and situates its relevence in this,
the 21st century. Accessible and comprehensive, this Cambridge Companion is
essential reading for students and teachers, from a range of disciplines,
who are interested in postmoderism in all of its incarnations. Softcover,
237 pp. $35.95.
 In Praise of Slow: How a Worldwide Movement is Challenging the Cult of Speed
Carol Honore
In Praise of Slow traces the history of our increasingly breathless
relationship with time, and tackles the consequences and conundrum of living
in this accelerated culture of our own creation. Realizing the price we pay
for unrelenting speed, people all over the world are reclaiming their time,
slowing down the pace, and living happier, healthier, and more productive lives.
Hardcover, 310 pp. $36.00.
 Why Arnold Matters: The Rise of a Cultural Icon
Michael Blitz & Louise Krasniewicz
Not only does he head the largest state economy in the United States, but after
thirty years in the public eye and reaping billions in box office sales, Arnold
Schwarzenegger is a cultural icon without parallel. This thought-provoking
and imaginative new book examines American life at the beginning of the 21st
century through the veil of Arnold's all-pervasive presence. Hardcover, 302
pp. $28.95.
 Teen TV; Genre, Consumption and Identity
Glyn Davis & Kay Dickenson
This is the first anthology dedicated to a broad range of television programmes
produced for and watched by teenagers. With extensive coverage of shows such
as Dawson's Creek, Roswell, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and
Australia's Heartbreak High, the book examines how these dramas construct
and reaffirm distinct versions of 'youth'. Teen TV is a fascinating
survey of the different forms teen television takes and the multitude of ways
in which it is produced and used. Softcover, 197 pp. $37.95.
 Loving Big Brother: Performance, Privacy, and Surveillance Space
John E. McGrath
Constant scrutiny by surveillance cameras is usually seen as, at best, a necessary
invasion of privacy and, at worst, an infringement of human rights. But in
this radical new account of the uses of surveillance in art, performance and
popular culture, John E. McGrath sets out a surprising alternative: a world
where we have much to gain from the experience of being watched. Softcover,
246 pp. $44.95.
 Forever Young: The 'Teen-Aging' of Modern Culture
Marcel Danesi
Marcel Danesi, author of Cool, takes on the 'forever young
syndrome' to show how ideas of childhood, adolescence, and juvenilization
are at risk of changing Western and moral social behaviour, marring the
bounderies between youthfulness and adulthood, and creating a 'Dorian
Gray' generation -- born of a vacuous and devalued consumer society.
Softcover, 139 pp. $24.95.
 Appropriating Blackness
Performance and the Politics of Authenticity
E. Patrick Johnson
Performance artist and scholar E. Patrick Johnson's provocative study
examines how blackness is appropriated and performed -- towards widely
diverging ends -- both within and outside African American culture. A
scholarly and lucidly argued text, Appropriating Blackness offers
compelling insight into the complex theories of race, sexuality, and
culture. Softcover, 365 pp. $34.95.
 Matters of Gravity: Special Effects and Supermen in the 20th Century
Scott Bukatman
The headlong rush, the rapid montage, the soaring superhero, the plunging roller
coaster -- Matters of Gravity focuses on the experience of technological
spectacle in American popular culture over the past century. Particular attenion
is paid to theme parks, cyberspace, cinematic special effects, superhero comics,
and Hollywood musicals. Softcover, 279 pp. $34.95.
 Cold War, Cool Medium: Television, McCarthyism, and American
Thomas Doherty
Conventional wisdom holds that television was a coconspirator in
the repressions of Cold War America, that it was a facilitator to the
blacklist and handmaiden to McCarthyism. On the contrary, Thomas Doherty
argues, in his provocative new book Cold War, Cool Medium, that
through the influence of television, America actually became a more open
and tolerant place. Hardcover, 305 pp. $41.95.
 It's Not the Media: The Truth About Pop Culture's Influence on Children
Karen Sternheimer
Are school shootings the result of violent video games? Do sex-laden movies
lead to promiscuity? Can Goth music create alienation? Repeatedly we are told
the answer to these and similar questions is a resounding yes; but is this
the right answer? This book presents a compelling argument that fear of social
change, and what it means to be a kid in today's media-saturated climate, lies
at the heart of our media-bashing culture. Hardcover, 272 pp. $40.00.
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Hidden Agendas: How Journalists Influence the News
Recycled Culture in Contemporary Art and Film
Obsession: Celebrities and their Stalkers
How Canadians Communicate
Digital Expressions: Media Literacy and English Language Arts
James Dean Died Here
Searching for Michael Jackson's Nose and other Preoccupations of Our Celebrity-Mad
Culture
Killing Monsters: Why Children Need Fantasy, Super Heroes, and Make-Believe Violence
Prime Time Animation: Television Animation and American Culture
Shooting People: Adventures in Reality TV
Scanning Television
Media Unlimited
New Media: Theories and Practices of Digitextuality
The Tenacity of the Cockroach: 
Love in a Dark Time
