BOBC

WIKINDX Resources  

Sternheimer, Karen. Pop Culture Panics: How Moral Crusaders Construct Meanings of Deviance and Delinquency. London: Routledge, 2015. 
Added by: joachim (22/05/2015, 09:21)   
Resource type: Book
Language: en: English
ID no. (ISBN etc.): 978-0-415-74805-6
BibTeX citation key: Sternheimer2015
Email resource to friend
View all bibliographic details
Categories: General
Keywords: Kulturpolitik, Sociology, USA
Creators: Sternheimer
Publisher: Routledge (London)
Views: 20/470
Attachments  
Abstract
Moral panics reveal much about a society’s social structure and the sociology embedded in everyday life. This short text examines extreme reactions to American popular culture over the past century, including crusades against comic books, music, and pinball machines, to help convey the “sociological imagination” to undergraduates. Sternheimer creates a critical lens through which to view current and future attempts of modern-day moral crusaders, who try to convince us that simple solutions—like regulating popular culture—are the answer to complex social problems. Pop Culture Panics is ideal for use in undergraduate social problems, social deviance, and popular culture courses.

Table of Contents

Preface (vii)
Acknowlegdments (xi)

1. Pop Culture Crusaders: Constructing Meanings of Deviance and Delinquency (1)
Fears that video games would cause violence in the 1990s provide a framework in understanding moral panics, moral crusades, and how people actively use fears of popular culture to create new meanings of deviance and delinquency.

2. Anti-Movie Crusades: Fears of Immigration, Urbanization, and Shifts in Childhood (23)
The popularity of the movies in the early twentieth century led to moral crusades to regulate content. Immigration, urbanization, and shifting experiences of childhood caused the crusades.

3. Anti-Pinball Crusades: Fears of Gambling and Free Time (49)
Concerns about gambling and organized crime were projected onto young people during the Great Depression and World War II. Moral crusades against pinball highlight anxieties about leisure overtaking the value of hard work and working class spaces.

4. Anti-Comic Book Crusades: Fear of Youth Violence (73)
Postwar fears of delinquency and youth violence reach a fever pitch, which moral crusaders blamed on graphic comic books.

5. Anti-Music Crusades: Fears of Racial Integration, Religious Participation and Freedom of Expression (105)
Much of American popular music derives from African Americans. The widespread success of genres like jazz, rock and roll, and rap created fears of racial integration. As musicians became revered, religious leaders feared that they would lead young people away from traditional religion.

6. Conclusion: Contemporary Pop Culture Crusades (133)
The growth of social media not only produces fear about a new form of communication, but has created new ways to mount moral crusades.

Selected Bibliography (151)
Index (155)


  
WIKINDX 6.8.2 | Total resources: 14514 | Username: -- | Bibliography: WIKINDX Master Bibliography | Style: Modern Language Association (MLA)