Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Social theory can sometimes seem as though it's speaking of a world that existed long ago, so why should we continue to study and discuss the theories of these dead white men? Can their work still inform us about the way we live today? Are they still relevant to our consumer-focused, celebrity-crazy, tattoo-friendly world?

This book explains how the ideas of classical sociological theory can be understood, and applied to, everyday activities like listening to hip-hop, reading fashion magazines or watching reality TV. Taking the reader through central sociological texts, Social Theory In Popular Culture explains why key theorists - from Marx to Saussure - are still considered to be the bedrock of sociology and sociological enquiry. Each chapter examines a different key thinker and applies their work to a recognisable aspect of popular cultural, showing how the central issues underpinning classic social thought - class, conflict, gender, power, ethnicity, and social status - can still be readily observed within the modern global world.

Encouraging the reader to critique and reflect upon the ways in which classic social theory applies to their own worlds, this is the perfect antidote to dry social theory explanations. It is an eye-opening read for all students and scholars across the social sciences.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Preface(p. vii)
• Acknowledgements(p. viii)
• Introduction(p. 1)
• 1 Marx and music(p. 9)
• Marx: capitalism, class conflict and ideology(p. 10)
• Twenty-first-century Marx: the hip-hop Marxist message(p. 16)
• Questions to consider(p. 23)
• Further reading(p. 23)
• 2 Weber and film(p. 24)
• Weber, class and status(p. 26)
• Weber, status and film(p. 28)
• Questions to consider(p. 37)
• Further reading(p. 37)
• 3 Durkheim and celebrity(p. 38)
• Durkheim's sociology(p. 39)
• Durkheim and solidarity(p. 42)
• Solidarity through celebrity?(p. 45)
• Does celebrity act as 'social glue'?(p. 52)
• Questions to consider(p. 54)
• Further reading(p. 54)
• 4 Simmel and pop fashion(p. 55)
• Simmel, the individual and fashion(p. 56)
• Pop fashion(p. 63)
• Simmel goes pop(p. 70)
• Questions to consider(p. 72)
• Further reading(p. 72)
• 5 Adorno and reality television(p. 73)
• Adorno and the nature of mass culture(p. 75)
• Adorno, reality TV and 'talentÆ television(p. 81)
• Questions to consider(p. 89)
• Further reading(p. 89)
• 6 Feminism and sport(p. 90)
• Feminism(s)(p. 91)
• Sport and women (and men)(p. 96)
• Charlotte Perkins Gilman and WAGs(p. 100)
• Sport and changing masculinities(p. 102)
• Gender and sport: an arena for change?(p. 105)
• Questions to consider(p. 106)
• Further reading(p. 106)
• 7 Semiotics and tattooing(p. 108)
• Semiotics(p. 110)
• Tattooing culture: 'scars that speakÆ(p. 113)
• Tattoos as storytelling signs(p. 118)
• Semiotics, tattoos and the problem of meaning(p. 120)
• Questions to consider(p. 124)
• Further reading(p. 124)
• 8 Neoliberalism and literature(p. 125)
• The rise of neoliberalism(p. 128)
• Ayn Rand and the fiction of neoliberalism(p. 131)
• Rand and the modern neoliberal world(p. 139)
• Questions to consider(p. 141)
• Further reading(p. 141)
• Conclusion: thinking, watching, listening and reading sociologically(p. 142)
• References(p. 146)
• Index(p. 159)