Interpreting Everyday Culture

Introducing first and second year university students to cultural studies approaches to everyday life, this accessible textbook prompts its readers to take a fresh, critical look at the familiar, yet strangely intriguing terrain of daily life in modern, industrialized societies. The text introduces the student of cultural studies to a range of key theoretical concepts in the discipline through simple, cogent explanations illustrated with a variety of examples. These range from discussions of graffiti, bodybuilding and fashion to analyses of cultures of the city, the suburb and the domestic home and daily practices like eating, shopping and getting around. The book raises a series of thought-provoking questions including: How do we make meaning and find pleasure through the everyday preparation and consumption of food? What is "lifestyle", exactly, and when and why was it invented? How are our personal identities tied up with our work activities and environments? How do quotidian technologies such as the telephone shape our daily lives? How does commodity culture impact on our understanding of who we are and should we understand the complex relationships between ourselves and the products we consume? Written with the level of its readership specifically in mind, the emphasis is on clarity and conciseness of explanations; as many relevant, illustrative examples as possible; and regular questions and exercises to stimulate students to actively apply the theory to their own experience.