Media Studies: A Reader

Media Studies: A Reader introduces a full range of theoretical perspectives through which the media may be explored, analysed, critiqued, and understood. The Reader reaches back to essential statements from writers such as Raymond Williams, Stuart Hall, Marshall McLuhan, Jurgen Habermas, Jean Baudrillard and Michel Foucault, whose work was central to forming the field. It also includes wide ranging work on contemporary media formations from a stellar collection of diverse theorists, including Annabelle Sreberny, Paul Gilroy, Charlotte Brunsden, Angela McRobbie, Asu Askoy and Kevin Robins, Micheal Bull, and Nick Couldry, to name only a very few of those included. Finally, the Reader looks to the future, exploring new media formations and their significance, through the work of Mark Andrejevic, Lev Manovich, Jonathan Sterne and others. The sixty-five readings are divided into two main parts: ‘Studying the Media’ begins with a section on key theoretical perspectives and follows this with five sections opening up questions around the Public Sphere, Representation, Feminism and Gender, Audiences, and Everyday Life respectively. The second part, ‘Case Studies’, brings together concrete examples of how theoretical approaches can be realised through a series of case studies, covering for instance, reality TV, news, advertising, and new media. With easy-to-follow introductions and guides to further reading accompanying each section, Media Studies: A Reader equips the student to engage with key debates in the field. This new edition updates all sections with a rich selection of contemporary writing complementing re-chosen media ‘classics’. In addition: * Further Reading lists have been comprehensively updated * Introductory essays to each section have been expanded and re-written