Drawing on literature, art, film theatre, music and much more, American Cultural Studies is an interdisciplinary introduction to American culture for those taking American Studies. This textbook: * introduces the full range and variety of American culture including issues of race, gender and youth * provides a truly interdisciplinary methodology * suggests and discusses a variety of approaches to study * highlights American distinctiveness * draws on literature, art, film, theatre, architecture, music and more * challenges orthodox paradigms of American Studies. This is a fast-expanding subject area, and Campbell and Kean's book will certainly be a staple part of any cultural studies student's reading diet.

Praise for previous editions: 'Something of a godsend ... as a teaching resource this book is second to none ... achieves levels of multiplicity rarely, if ever, reached by others.' - Borderlines: Studies in American Culture This third edition of American Cultural Studies has been updated throughout to take into account the developments of the last six years, providing an introduction to the central themes in modern American culture and explores how these themes can be interpreted. Chapters in the book discuss the various aspects of American cultural life such as religion, gender and sexuality, and regionalism. Updates and revisions include: discussion of Barack Obama’s rise to power and the end of the ‘Bush Years’ consideration of ‘Hemispheric American Studies’ and the increasing debates about globalisation and the role of the USA up-to-date case-studies, such as The Wire and Nurse Jackie, more on suburbia, the Mexican-border crossing, the Twilight phenomena etc updated further-reading lists.Accompanying website. American Cultural Studies is a core text and an accessible introduction to the interdisciplinary study of American culture.

What is "too fat"? what is "too thin"? Interpretations of body weight vary widely across and within cultures. Meeting weight expectations is a major concern for many people because failing to do so may incur dire social consequences, such as difficulty in finding a romantic partner or even in locating adequate employment. without these social and cultural pressures, body weight would only be a health issue. while socially constructed standards of body weight may seem immutable, they are continuously recreated through social interactions that perpetuate or transform expectations about fatness and thinness. Written by sociologists, psychologists, and nutritionists, all of the chapters in this book focus on how people construct fatness and thinness, examining different strategies used to interpret body weight, such as negotiating weight identities, reinterpreting weight, and becoming involved in weight-related organizations. Together these chapters emphasize the many ways that people actively define, construct, and enact their fatness and thinness in a variety of settings and situations.

Gender in Applied Communication Contexts explores the intersection and integration of feminist theory as applied to four important areas: organizational communication, health communication, family communication, and instructional communication. This collection of readings links theoretical insights and contributions to pragmatic ways of improving the lives of women and men in a variety of professional and personal situations. Features of this text include: Extensive use of narrative. The situations the authors describe in these chapters are those confronted by students, scholars, and family members and friends in daily life: telecommuting, work/life balance, sexual harassment, cancer, disability, AIDS, verbal and nonverbal communication applications in learning. Applied communication approach: The text applies feminist theory to analysis and construction of realistic interventions for achieving greater workplace equity, enhanced health outcomes for women, and more inclusive and thought-provoking classroom (and training workshop) practices. Strong framing pedagogy. In each Part introduction, top scholars in that area discuss what is theoretically and pragmatically significant about the Part and how the ideas in the chapters might be extended. Original, cutting-edge academic work. All of the chapters in this text are original theoretical contributions that have not been published elsewhere, giving students access to the most contemporary thinking and research in the field. While this text spans the diverse landscape of communication contexts, the central theme of feminist theory praxis makes it appropriate for a number of different courses. Gender in Applied Communication Contexts is recommended for upper-division and graduate-level courses in gender and communication, feminist theory, organizational communication, health communication, instructional communication, and applied communication. This anthology is also recommended as a research resource for scholars in Women′s Studies, Family Studies, and Business and Management.

A study of the experiences of those who live outside social norms for beauty, size and shape, as well as the reactions of normal people to those who appear grotesque. The text contains essays on treating those with disorders or deformities, and over 40 stories, poems and plays about abnormality.

Examines how twentieth-century women writers depict female bodily shame and trauma.

Women’s Rights in the USA is a rigorous examination of the intersection of gender roles and public policy and the implications for feminist activists. The book places full information on state and federal statutes and court decisions in the context of the ebb and flow of debates that have engaged the public since the founding of the Republic. This fifth edition includes updates on all topics and expanded attention to same-sex marriage and lesbian issues, pay equity, conservative trends in courts, and women in elective politics. This text is a resource for the inquiry into women’s rights politics and policies. It is a record of the changes in the major areas affecting gender roles and the status of women: constitutional law, political participation, reproduction, family law, education, work and pay, work and family, sexuality and economic status. It is more than a recital of laws, statutes and court decisions. The chapters focus on the development of the changes in debates over these issues and how the debates produce laws and provide the environment for their administration and interpretation. It also highlights the role, and impact, of feminists in the debates.