Storey - Cultural Theory and Popular Culture: An Introduction

An Introduction

Ninth Edition

John Storey

Ninth edition published 2021

by Routledge

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2021 John Storey

The right of John Storey to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

Trademark notice : Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.

First edition published by Pearson Education Limited 1997

Eighth edition published by Routledge 2018

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Storey, John, author.

Title: Cultural theory and popular culture : an introduction / John Storey.

Description: Ninth Edition. | New York : Routledge, 2021. | Revised edition of the authors Cultural theory and popular culture, 2018. | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2020032284 (print) | LCCN 2020032285 (ebook) | ISBN 9780367820626 (hardback) | ISBN 9780367820602 (paperback) | ISBN 9781003011729 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: Popular culturePhilosophy. | CulturePhilosophy. | CultureHistory.

Classification: LCC CB19. S743 2021 (print) | LCC CB19 (ebook) | DDC 901dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020032284

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020032285

ISBN: 978-0-367-82062-6 (hbk)

ISBN: 978-0-367-82060-2 (pbk)

ISBN: 978-1-003-01172-9 (ebk)

Typeset in Giovanni Std

by KnowledgeWorks Global Ltd.

Visit the companion website: www.routledge.com/cw/storey

For Charlie and Jenny

Cultural Theory and Popular Culture is an introduction in that it tries to be accessible in terms of subject matter, but it is also an introduction in the sense that it introduces something new. That is to say, although all the work discussed here has a previous existence, it is not a body of work that previously existed as a tradition of cultural theory and popular culture. The originality of this book is to bring this work together as a way of understanding popular culture and the discourses around popular culture.

In preparing the ninth edition I have revised, rewritten, edited, added and updated throughout. The most obvious additions are new sections on Utopian Marxism ( on postmodernism, removing the sections on pop music, television and convergence culture.

Popular culture, and the study of popular culture, has a history and a tradition, and it is important that students do not think that contemporary and popular culture are interchangeable terms. History is a very important part of the field. I am sometimes asked why I do not update some of the theories and methodologies discussed in this book. The reason is twofold and very simple. First, one cannot draw a historical map using only the most recent examples of the encounter between cultural theory and popular culture. Second, what I discuss here are the classics of the field; their critical focus may be on popular culture that is no longer popular, but in terms of theory and method they provide ways of working that are foundational to the field while still supplying the reader with some invaluable tools when trying to understand more recent examples of popular culture. Put simply, they remain, and will continue to remain for the foreseeable future, a key part of the historical, theoretical and methodological literacy needed when thinking critically about popular culture, especially from the critical perspective of cultural studies.

The ninth edition is best read in conjunction with its companion volume, Cultural Theory and Popular Culture: A Reader , fifth edition (Routledge, 2019).

In writing the eighth edition I have revised, rewritten, edited and added throughout. The most obvious addition is a new chapter called Class and class struggle. Altogether, the size of the book has increased by more than 6,500 words.

The eighth edition is best read in conjunction with its companion volume, Cultural Theory and Popular Culture: A Reader , fifth edition (Routledge, 2019).

In writing the seventh edition I have revised, rewritten and edited throughout. I have also added new material to most of the chapters. The most obvious additions are a new section on the contextuality of meaning at the end of and a new chapter called The materiality of popular culture. Altogether I have added more than 8,500 words.

The seventh edition is best read in conjunction with its companion volume, Cultural Theory and Popular Culture : A Reader