Discusses how Bob Dylan's biographical songs promote the myth of the outlaw-hero and offer powerful cultural criticism by appealing to three ethical traits: resistance to corrupt authority, integrity of the self, and simplicity. Shows how Dylan's biographical rhetoric defines a social context that appeals to a vast audience. (JD)

This paper argues that the existence of a canon of established and privileged texts in the primary literacy curriculum in England can be traced historically and has informed current national policy and practice. This canonisation of a particular set of literature has served to marginalise popular cultural and media texts, often the preferred texts…

The world is moving toward a uniform material culture, dominated by mostly material American influences: technological innovations, fashion, Hollywood and the celebrity culture it promotes, hip-hop, and rock and roll. But the pervasiveness of the trappings of American culture obscures the central cultural paradox that lies within the…

Even though television scholar Herbert Zettl singlehandedly created the term "television aesthetics" by proclaiming that TV is an art, television studies are still excluded from the respectable divisions and disciplines of knowledge. Television is considered the epitome of mass culture/kitsch, and the very idea of a TV…

Critically reviews several intellectual developments that have legitimized the study of popular culture in American universities in recent years, including (1) a sociological perspective that minimizes the differences between high and popular culture, (2) a broadening of what can be studied as a "text", and (3) increasing attention to the…

Examines the social and cultural behavior patterns transmitted through French children's literature over the 40-year period between 1930 and 1975, and examines the extent to which these patterns make children "French." (AM)

Suggests that aspirations to de-school society and empower young people to be independent producers of culture are part of a wider debate. Notes that new partnerships between school and popular culture need to be developed at a number of different levels. (SG)

The winning of an artist representing the lowest level of Finnish musical taste during the 2006 Eurovision song contest marks not only the rebellious attitude towards the over-sanitized contest, but it was the result of a new practice--voting by text message. Recently, music-biased schools that were once selective of the music they teach are now…

Using multiliteracies and sociocultural perspectives on language and literacy learning, this article describes three Japanese as a foreign language (JFL) students' literacy development through involvement with Japanese popular culture. As part of a larger qualitative ethnographic study, the author interviewed JFL learners who have a particular…

Noting that in the Europe of 1500 few people could read and write but that by 1800 the era of mass literacy had arrived, this book documents that momentous critical change and its implications. Using as a base a wide-range analytical survey, the book explores the place of literacy and education in social structures and social change in Europe…

Advertising and society courses have suffered from conflicting educational goals, superficial scholarly research, and a lack of critical intellectual perspectives. The institutional perspective on advertising research has the major strength that it elucidates structural and functional factors of advertising. However, it ignores cultural…

Examines the recent development of cultural studies as a discipline. Covers the following topics: what it means to do cultural studies; the history of cultural studies; methods of cultural study; cultural studies of education; and what the field can do for education and educators. (SM)

Argues that modern cultural and literary forces have altered the direction of literary criticism. Suggests that structuralist criticism has given way to poststructuralism. Asserts that poststructuralism represses differences between apparently separate things while holding that words assume meaning through the operation of language. Critiques…

Throughout history, certain members of nearly all cultures have deliberately altered their body's natural appearance. Today, people live in a time when medicine can cure the body and also reshape it. Hence, many people use biomedical means, such as steroids and hormones to alter their bodies. Additionally, cosmetic surgery is becoming increasingly…

Hip hop is the most multicultural of popular musical forms--all races and ethnicities are involved. Simultaneously hip hop is also the most racialized, and indeed the most blackened, musical form of individuals' times. How did this happen and why should it be of interests to music scholars? In this short essay, the author attempts to suggest that…