Title: Cultural criticism : a primer of key concepts /
Authors: Berger, Arthur Asa, 1933-
Publisher: Sage Publications,
Year: 1995
Subjects: Culture; Criticism; Communism and culture.; Semiotics Social aspects.; Psychoanalysis and culture.; Sociology Methodology
Abstract: Arthur Asa Berger's unique ability to translate difficult theories into accessible language makes this book an ideal introduction to cultural criticism. Berger covers the key theorists, concepts, and subject areas, from literary, sociological and psychoanalytical theories to semiotics and Marxism. Cultural Criticism breathes new life into the discipline by making these theories relevant to students' lives. The author illustrates his explanations with excerpts from classic works giving readers a sense of the important thinkers' styles and helping place them in their context. Berger also provides a comprehensive bibliography on cultural criticism for those who wish to explore the topics at greater length. Cultural Criticism is the perfect undergraduate supplemental text for such courses as media studies, literary criticism, and popular culture.
Contents: 1. An introduction to cultural criticism -- The Mission impossible dream -- Cultural criticism and cultural studies -- On technical language -- Making complex ideas accessible -- Thinkers evolve and change their ideas over time -- A useful analogy -- 2. Literary theory and cultural criticism -- Mimesis and other theories of literature -- Texts -- Genres and texts -- Interpretation of texts -- Hermeneutics -- Reception theory -- Deconstruction -- Postmodernism -- Feminist criticism -- Phallocentric theory -- Formalism -- Defamiliarization -- Dialogical theory -- Montage and meaning -- Conclusion -- 3. Marxism and cultural criticism -- Base/superstructure -- The Frankfurt school of criticism -- The bourgeoisie -- Class -- Alienation -- Commodity fetishism --Consumer culture -- Interpellation -- Ideology -- Cultural imperialism -- Hegemony -- Reproduction -- Political cultures -- Conclusion -- 4. Semiotics and cultural criticism -- Signs in semiotics and semiology -- How signs function -- Symbols in Saussure's system -- Icon, index, symbol : Peirce's system -- Images -- Codes -- Connotation -- Denotation -- Metaphor -- Metonymy -- Synchronic analysis and diachronic analysis -- Intertextuality -- Auteur theory -- Syntagmatic analysis -- Paradigmatic analysis -- Structuralism -- Conclusion -- 5. Psychoanalytic theory and cultural criticism -- The unconscious -- The id -- The ego -- The superego -- The Oedipus complex -- Condensation -- Displacement -- Narcissism -- Sublimation -- Overdetermination -- Myth -- Archetype -- Heroes -- Shadow -- Anima/animus -- Conclusion -- 6. Sociological theory and cultural criticism -- Culture -- Multiculturalism -- DWEMs -- Political correctness -- Anomie -- Functionalism -- Sacred/profane -- Mass media theory -- Mass society -- Media/medium -- Audience -- Stereotyping-- Popular culture -- Everyday life -- Conclusion.